Witness a wild baby animal boom up close on the Coast

Home to over 3,000 animals and plants from around Australia, the Australian Reptile Park at Somersby on the Central Coast immerses visitors in a beautiful bushland setting giving them the quintessential “Aussie bush” experience. And now, seeing baby animals at their cutest!

Tasmanian devil joeys, koala joeys and more can now be seen as they’re growing and venturing out at the Australian Reptile Park. The cute list continues to wow visitors with other baby animals playing peek-a-boo including Komodo dragon babies, 'Tiny Tim' the tortoise, Eastern quoll joeys, and even adorable baby alligators.

Spring 2022 witnessed the successful arrival of many wild baby animals at the Park, meaning the trained Keepers at the park are both overwhelmed and overjoyed with this overload of new arrivals that are truly keeping their hands full!

Wildlife are centre-stage in the Park's daily shows, with guests able to see various baby animals bonding with their mums in the safety of their exhibits. This includes tiny koala joeys slowly starting to poke their heads out to say hello and the adorable (and viral internet sensation) Tasmanian devil joeys – 'Pickles' & 'Cheese' – find out more on these guys below. 

Australian Reptile Park Director, Tim Faulkner, says,

“I love seeing adults and children’s faces light up when they see a Tassie devil joey for the first time, or when they spot a koala joey poking out of its mums’ pouch!

As well as admiring our beautiful babies all taking their first steps and bonding with their parents, we hope our visitors find their passion for ensuring the future for these incredible species, as well as educating themselves on how they can help us, help them.”

The names Vegemite and Toast have been selected for the Australian Reptile Park's new twin Tasmanian devils after thousands of suggestions from the public. The Tasmanian devils are vital to a breeding program at sister conservation organisation,  Aussie Ark, which is helping to save the endangered species. Vegemite and Toast are joined with another pair of Tasmanian devil joeys aptly named Pickles and Cheese. Acting as a true sign of hope, all four Tasmanian devil joeys will act as ambassadors for the species and Australia’s native wildlife.

Vegemite & Toast are currently being hand-raised by Keeper Lauren Hunter, who dotes on the pair day and night. Hand-raising Tasmanian devil joeys is no easy task with the precious pair initially on bottle feeds every 4 hours... including one at 2am!

Keeper Lauren Hunter says,

“Throughout the naming competition we accomplished two things – found incredible names for our gorgeous new family members and raised awareness for Tasmanian devils as a species. Even if only one person took the time to look into the conversation and protection of Tasmanian devils due to this and what the Reptile Park and Aussie Ark are doing to save the species, we have done our job! But in this case, we had tens of thousands of people falling in love with these joeys!

Tasmanian devils are one of the most iconic native species we have here in Australia. Looking at these two it’s easy to see why! They love to get up to mischief, playing with each other and climbing everything!”

Unfortunately, Australia currently has the worst mammal extinction rate on earth. With over 40 mammals alone extinct, Australia is an incredibly important region as so many of our species are only found here, and nowhere else on the entire planet. 87% of our mammals, 93% of our Reptiles, 94% frogs and 45% birds are only found in Australia – we must protect them.

As part of their conservation journey, Vegemite, Toast, Cheese and Pickles will make their return to Aussie Ark and be released into a wild protected sanctuary - the largest of its kind for Tasmanian devils. Aussie Ark’s population of Tasmanian devils are free from the devastating devil facial tumour disease (DFTD) that plagues wild populations.

The Australian Reptile Park is a hands-on zoo located the natural bush setting of the NSW Central Coast, just minutes off the M1 near Gosford - and only 60 minutes north of Sydney or south of Newcastle. Visitors can enjoy live entertaining shows, themed exhibits and interaction with many of the wildlife park’s residents. The Park is open daily from 9am-5pm, with complimentary parking and BBQ facilities.

Continuous live shows provide an entertaining day out at The Australian Reptile Park for children and parents alike, with over 10 live shows every day. The show line up includes the popular daily interactive walks with some of the Reptile Park stars including Hugo the Galapagos tortoise, Komodo dragons and wild lorikeet feeding.

For those looking for an extra memorable experience, Keeper-led animal encounters can be booked with Tasmanian devil joeys, koalas, baby Komodo dragons and more! Find out more on immersive behind-the-scenes tours at the Australian Reptile Park's dedicated page.