Our diverse animal population is well known amongst visitors and locals alike. From adorably chubby Tasmanian devils to enormous scaly crocodiles, Australia's animal kingdom has something for every kind of wildlife lover.
These three animals are so cute and charming that you'll be dying to hire a car and get on the road to meet them all.
However, every now and then comes an animal that stands out from the pack. These three animals are so lovable and charming that you'll be dying to hire a car and get on the road to meet them all.
1) Archer the koala
It's unthinkable not to include a koala in a list like this. These downy grey animals are pretty much the face of all things cute and cuddly in Australia and Archer, a baby koala living at Featherdale Wildlife Park in Sydney, is arguably the cutest and cuddliest of them all.
Sadly, this fuzzy little guy didn't have the best start in life. Archer was born in June 2014 and was removed from his mother, Chloe, after keepers became concerned about his development. Chad Staples, the park's curator, explains that this was in Archer's best interests:
"With the arrival of cold weather, we were worried that mum, Chloe wasn't taking [as] great care of her joey as she normally would. In the end, we made the tough decision to remove Archer from his mum and hand-raise him in order to give him the greatest chance of survival."
Things started looking up for baby Archer from this point onwards. He has since grown a considerable amount and now lives at Featherdale's Koala Kindergarten with his best friend Aria, who is never far from his side. Hire a rental car from Sydney Airport and make visiting Archer, as well as several other koalas and native Australian animals, the first thing you do once you get off the plane.
2) Footloose the rainbow lorikeet
Footloose, or Footy as she has been nicknamed, is a rainbow lorikeet living at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane. Feisty and chock-full of personality, this colourful little bird was brought to the sanctuary by a concerned member of the public, who found her injured at the shops.
Since then, Footy has made herself an integral part of life at Lone Pine, impressing both staff and visitors with her spirit and tenacity. Despite this, Footy still hasn't quite mastered eating, with most of her food ending up on her face during meal times.
Rainbow lorikeets are exceptionally smart, displaying reasoning skills and even learning to speak. In addition, these birds are so accustomed to humans that they will take food from your hand. This means that you can witness Footy's quirky eating habits up close!
3) Albert the globefish
A trip to Sea Life Aquarium in Melbourne will have you face to face with Albert, an exceptionally happy-looking globefish. Albert has a unique facial structure that makes him look like he is constantly smiling. Combine this with his adorably large eyes and Albert could be pulled straight out of the chorus of a Disney film.
Although they are closely related, globefish are not puffer fish, though they exhibit similar characteristics: When threatened, the tenacious little fish puff up their bodies. This forces their yellow spines to stand erect, making themselves difficult for predators to fit in their mouths. In the wild, these critters are known for their cheeky behaviour, often sneaking bait from fishermen. They're even gutsy enough to steal food directly from the mouths of larger fish!
May 5, 2015 at 12:13am PDT