Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

Posted on October 2, 2022  •  4 minutes  • 662 words  • Other languages:  Deutsch

One of the first things we did in Brisbane was to visit the Lone Pine Koala Sancuary . The sanctuary is home to many different Australian animals many of whom wouldn’t survive in the wild due to disabilities or injuries.

History

The sanctuary was opened in 1927 when Koalas were still being hunted for their fur. A Queenslander saw the need to create a safe place for Koalas and other native animals to live. Today the sanctuary is home to many different animals, as well as a reasearch center for Koalas and a Koala biobank.

Getting there

We drove to the sanctuary and it took us about 25 minutes to get there by car. There are also busses from Brisbane and there is a boat that you can take to get to the sanctuary. We got there pretty early (around 9 am) to avoid the crowds and there was a lot parking available and the park was still pretty empty. The park itself is located in the Brisbane suburb of Fig Tree Pocket, directly at the river.

Our visit

We first went to look at the Koalas. I had seen Koalas before when we were in Western Australia, but it was from very far away and I was really excited to see them a bit more up close. What really struck me was how small they are. I thought the would be much bigger, but they are these super cute small furballs all snuggled up in the trees. Most of them were sleeeping, as they do sleep the majority of the day to digest the eukalyptus leaves they eat. They seem to be very social, often piled up in small groups, being very close to each other.

After having visited the Koalas, we went to see the Kangaroos. They are in this huge enclosure and just hop around. At the entrace you can grab some kangaroo feed and then actually feed them. They have three different species there, big red kangaroos , smaller grey kangaroos and even smaller wallabies. Most of them were pretty used to humans and came to get some of the kangaroo feed. There was also a space where no humans are allowed to enter and the roos can go to relax. As a person who is very sceptical of zoos in general, I really appreciated the way this was laid out.

Next to the kangaroos they have a lot of different farm animals like sheep, goats and pigs and right next to this there is a daily raptor show. They have different birds of prey, who for one reason or another cannot be released into the wild again. One of the birds for example had been injured flying into electricity cables. While they might not survive in the wild on their own anymore, the show was very impressive. The flew from one animal care taker to the other over our heads. Their sheer speed was incredible! But not all of their birds participated in the show, there was a large eagle for example, who was sitting on a tree on a small island in the middle of a pond. That eagle could no longer fly, which I assume must be terrible for a bird who is such a master at this.

Apart from the koalas, kangaroos and birds of prey there were also other Australian animals such as emus, crocodiles, and dingos. And in between were so many animals who didn’t actually belong to the park, but just chose to stay there e.g., Australian water dragons in all sizes, lorikeets , and brush turkeys .

All in all I highly recommend going to the sanctuary, even if you typically don’t like zoos. I think they do a really good thing here giving so many animals a home. And it is great to learn about native Australian animals. We actually loved it so much that we got an annual pass and I am really looking forward to going again!