Submitted by Devin O’Doherty on the 2019 winter session study abroad program in Australia and New Zealand sponsored by the Department of Business Administration…
This past week, my group went to the Australian Walkabout Wildlife Park. While we were there, we got to learn about all the different animals that are native to Australia. We got to interact directly with kangaroos, wallabies, peacocks, snakes and koalas. This was really cool to experience as I never knew you were able to get so close to kangaroos especially. We were taking pictures with them, feeding them and watching them interact with each other. My favorite part of the day, however, was getting to see koalas. This is something I was so excited to do before I came to Australia and I’m so happy we got to see them. At first, when the guide told us we couldn’t hold them, however, I was disappointed. But, after learning why, it made sense and I’m thankful for New South Wales having the law in place that prohibits people holding koalas. Our guide told us that the koalas get extremely stressed from being passed around from person to person. However, since they don’t speak, they have no way of expressing this stress. It is unfair to the animal to assume they are okay when they may not be and therefore it is illegal for people to hold them. It is a way to protect them emotionally. This was very interesting to me and made me sad that in some places it is allowed for people to pass them around and hold them. You can’t tell how the koala is feeling since it can’t express its emotions so it’s unfair to put it into a situation where it may feel scared or stressed. I enjoyed learning about this and while I didn’t get to hold a koala, I am thankful I got to see one and pet one safely while it was calm and happy.
