Edited version of the 3rd Thylacine Reserve post.
You're now right outside the building. You see that is you skipped the building there's a path that leads around it to where you are now.
(“Why would anyone skip those amazing indoor exhibits.”)
Across the path is a similar looking exhibit but it’s larger. You look inside and see two (male and female) adult
Lumholtz’s Tree Kangaroos (Dendrolagus Lumholtzi) climbing up their tree climbs and eating leaves. Right next to this exhibit is another of the same design and size but inside you find a family (mother, father, and a cub on its mother’s back) of
Koala (Phascolarctos Cinereus). You read that they, along with Eucalyptus Leaf Beetles, are the only main consumers of the highly toxic Eucalypt plants. Speaking of
Eucalyptus Leaf Beetles (Paropsis Variolosa), you see a small exhibit right in front of the Koalas that is filled with many and these tiny creatures crawling over Eucalyptus branches and nibbling on the leaves. Up ahead you come across large, rainforest floor type exhibit. You then see an amazingly beautiful bird run out from its sitting position behind a tree. It has a sleek black body and a head of yellow, orange, blue, and red topped off with a large crest on top of its head. It’s a
Southern Cassowary (Casuarius Casuarius). By the upcoming right turn, there’s a large, fake rock with a glass window in the center. You look inside, at first see nothing because it is quite dark, and then see five
Tasmanian Wombats (Vombatus Ursinus Tasmaniensis). They all were sleeping in a large pile together so close that when one stood up, the rest awoke. You move around the corner and see that there is also a large outdoor portion for the animals as well. The exhibit is designed to look like the forest floor of Tasmania you assume. There’re rocks and logs with moss covering them along with many places to hide. You’re about to keep moving when you notice two little kangaroo-like animals bounding around the exhibit. One stops to investigate one of the wombats that has just stepped out on the burrow. You read that these are
Tasmanian Pademelons (Thylogale Billardierii) and they are the sole endemic
(endemic?) pademelon
(Pademelon?) of Tasmania. You also see that, “They were an important food source for the Thylacine (Thylacinus Cynocephalus).”
(Were? Why aren’t they anymore?)
You turn to continue and see that there are only three exhibits left and then a large building at the end of the trail. The first two are across the trail from one another. The one on the right is a less decorated, smaller version of the pademelon/wombat exhibit. Inside is a small group of
Brush-Tailed Bettong (Bettongia Penicillata). They remind you of even smaller kangaroos. On the left, you find a much bigger exhibit. It is grassy and has lots of green bushes and some logs. Under one of the bushed are two
Quokkas (Setonix Brachyurus) and on a rock near the front of the exhibit is what you first think is a big rat that broke into the exhibit but you then find out it is, in reality, a
Gilbert’s Potoroo (Potorous Gilbertii). You are interested to read that this potoroo, along with its mate who is currently off exhibit taking care of young, are the first two of their species to be in captivity outside of the Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve. You now move to the last exhibit. When you walk up to it, you realize that it’s actually two very different exhibits. They are both long and deep and have glass fronts but the rest is chain link fencing. There’s a small wooden fence to keep visitors from going behind the exhibit along a small, dirt trail that leads to a brick building barely visible in the trees. The back of the two exhibits are attached to a similar building (night housing). The first exhibit is grassy with a couple hollow logs and rocks in it. There’s a small burrow to the side of you. Inside are three
Tasmanian Devils (Sarcophilus Harrisii). You are unsure why, but you think of Looney Tunes. The next exhibit is completely different. The exhibit is filled with branches and trees and you can see little trials in the ground showing the animals are using the same paths when on the ground. Scurrying up one of the branches is a
Tiger Quoll (Dasyurus Maculatus). As you leave, you notice a second one sleeping on a branch and a third and fourth running on the ground trails. You now walk up to the building. By looking through the glass doors you know what you’re going to find- that the Thylacine is an extinct species. You are disappointed, but ready to continue.
~Thylo