Elsie and Barney love to play. They spend so much time cuddling, rolling around and chasing each other.
But as they grow, practicing their skills becomes more important and the play occasionally turns serious.
Whatever Elsie is communicating below (that we are unable to interpret) she clearly tells Barney to behave. He can be seen calming down and no longer being aggressive. He certainly doesn’t want to continue to battle Elsie.
Should I intervene? No – it’s all important learning! Elsie needs to be able to fight off unwanted male advances and they both need to learn to defend themselves and their territory against any predators. So this ‘play’ is vital for their survival in the wild.
But after the occasional battle turns nasty, Elsie and Barney go back to being friends! Climbing, exploring and just wandering around the garden.
Very often I am caught up in their battles! It is all in ‘fun’ and necessary for their development and one day I know the bruises will fade!
All this ‘play’ is thirsty work! Elsie loves drinking from the hose!
Barney hasn’t quite figured out yet where the water comes from!
I’ll be blogging more soon. In the meantime – relax and take some time out like Elsie does! Clearly, no wombats were harmed!
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Working with Australian Wildlife - Helen Hardy 