The doors are closed at Townsville’s Billabong Sanctuary due to COVID-19, but inside the show must go on before empty crowds. Koalas and wombats are getting their daily fix of attention and cuddles while birds in the local sanctuary are performing their daily shows as per usual. When the sanctuary was closed for 12 weeks in 2011 due to Cyclone Yasi it’s most popular bare-nosed wombat, Tonka, developed depression and refused to eat due to months without regular human contact from visitors, so staff learnt from the experience that resident koalas and wombats have adapted to the attention they get from visitors.
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