There must be a mouse somewhere down there!
An Australian Hobby hanging on the wind at the edge of “the Nut” at Stanley in the Northwest corner of Tasmania.
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Which is on the Northwest coast. We stayed in a historic house, now run as a hotel and restaurant.
The extensive gardens were well populated with Native Hens.
And not-so-native Peacocks.
As well as the owners’ German Shepards.
Your peacock photo looks like very intense needlework – just beautiful.
Just on the other side of the harbor was Narawntapu National Park. It’s known for its wombats, and did not disappoint.
A very young wombat grazing.
Wombat beside the path.
Wombat on the path.
Running wombat (top speed 40km/h).
I just don’t think we have anything in North America as cute as a wombat. And we have a lot of cute things.
Love the running shot.
Wombats are ridiculously cute.
Oddly enough, their closest relative is the Koala (also big with the cute, but dumb as a box of hammers, unlike the wombat which is considered the smartest of marsupial).
A wombat can move at 25 mph?! How long can it maintain that?
They really are cute.
Not very long, I suspect. They are incredibly dense compact creatures. Their main defense is to get back to their burrows (which can be up to 100 feet long). If something does manage to follow them in, they have a large bony plate on their rump and use that, plus their great strength, to crush their pursuer against the roof of the tunnel.
Another trait specific to wombats – a backward facing pouch, so that it doesn’t get any dirt in it while they dig.
Marsupial teats are inside the pouch. So nursing young have to stick their muzzles in the pouch to get a feed.
Mum took the opportunity to give the joey a good grooming.
Lily using momma as a pillow a mere five months ago.
with a growth rate that rapid, it seems like you should be able to literally HEAR them growing.
What I hear is the whining and carryings on when more than 12 hours pass between meal times.
Wow – what a trip. Thanks for the photos, keres. I love the running wombat.
You’re welcome. The thing with running wombats is to stay out of their way – they don’t call them “The Bulldozer of the Bush” for nuthin’ (and they have really poor eyesight).
Narawntapu National Park traditionally has a large wetland. The recent rains have barely begun to put water back in the park which have been dry for the better part of two years.
What little water there was can be seen from the lookout on Archer’s Knob.
A single pair of Mountain ducks graced the water.
That top picture is wonderful — I love the sweep of it.
The critter pictures are all excellent but I’m with Alice on the running wombat. It’s a great capture.
It’s a beautiful park. I’ll post more photos of the landscape when I get a chance.