The Cambridge family arrived through a private entrance to the zoo but still were greeted by a hundred or so smart members of the public who had lined up behind the temporary barriers that had been erected.
The rest of the facility was already at full capacity with the zoo announcing there were no more tickets an hour before the royal couple’s arrival with thousands lining the couple’s planned route through the zoo on what was a stunning day in Sydney.
George arrived in his mother’s arms looking adorable in a blue striped short sleeved shirt, blue shorts, socks and shoes.
George arrived at the zoo cradled in his mother’s arms.
Kate wore a pretty deep cream broderie anglaise dress by an independent designer who didn’t want to be named and sky high tan wedge sandals.
William was in blue jeans with a brown leather belt with ethnic detail and a blue check shirt with his sleeves rolled up.
Prince George was squealing with delight waving his arms and chuckling, looking like he was longing to get down and crawl around. He was intrigued by the cameras going off and the people around him and as more shutters went off he smiled and gurgled. This is clearly a Prince who is going to thrive in the spotlight.
The family then proceeded into the Australian Nightlife Display where keeper of Australian Fauna Paul Davies took them on a guided tour of the indoor display which included echidna, spinnifex hopping mice, feather-tailed gliders well as bilbies.
“It was awesome. It was like interacting with a family. They were just like any other family. Prince George was so lively. So many kids of that age don’t like the dark – it is like moonlight in there – and run out screaming. Not Prince George.” Paul said afterwards.
The pony-tailed keeper, 57, who hailed from Hertford in England originally and has been in Australia for 33 years, was fighting back the tears as he spoke about his royal encounter so blown away by the royal couple was he.
“I was so nervous and haven’t been sleeping. But I didn’t need to be. They were lovely. Just lovely”
Prince George was entranced by the animals especially the feather-tailed gliders that have suckers on their legs and were stuck to the inside of the glass exhibit while the baby prince was gazing at them.
“George kept on reaching out to try and touch them. He was trying to grab onto the tail,” says Paul.
When George was born, the Australian government made a donation to the zoo for its bilby preservation program which is helping restore numbers in the wild and today the almost nine-month-old Prince was here in person with his parents to unveil a special plaque naming the Bilby Enclosure after him.
Of course bilbies are nocturnal creatures who normally would be tucked up in bed at this time of the day. But it’s not often that three members of the royal family come to visit the creatures of their realm, so by royal command zoo an attendant brought renamed bilby George, a two-year-old handsome young adult and Taronga’s finest bilby, blinking into the sunshine to meet his patron, baby Prince George.
Keeper Paul Davies had known about the visit since Christmas and has been acclimatising George to the daylight by bringing him out for 10 minutes each day and feeding him. Today George the bilby was a star performer.
George the bilby came to the zoo specifically for the breeding program a year and a half ago and then he was named Boy. When it was decided that Boy was the bilby chosen to honour the baby Prince the renaming, which happened two months ago, had to be registered with the Stud Book Keeper. The other half of the breeding program is Yajala, which means friend in Aboriginal, a one-a-half-year-old bilby who it is hoped will mate with George.
Prince George and his parents met Yajala inside the night-time exhibit and Prince George loved her.
“I said she’s a very pretty bilby isn’t she, and joked that if I were a bilby I would definitely fancy her,” Paul says. “They laughed. It was so easy to talk to them. They have a very British sense of humour. I feel silly now for being so nervous.”
Meanwhile, outside the enclosure George the bilby was brought out in a cage and released into a rather smart specially made open topped enclosure with high perspex sides, red earth and rocks. A keeper fed him with the pre-prepared beef, carrots and wriggling mealworms and George (the bilby) chomped down the morsels and delighted onlookers standing on his legs and twirling round.
When the royal couple emerged from the Nightlife exhibit George (the baby) was still in his mother’s arms but immediately spied the lovely furry bilby with his huge long ears and squealed with delight waving his arms and legs and pointing.
As the keeper gave the bilby more food, the Duchess crouched down to let her son get closer to his namesake. George (the baby) was in his element and clung onto the Perspex sides and at one point it looked as if he might climb in.
“He’s gorgeous” said Kate as Will picked up his son and started jigging him in his arms and gently whispering in his ear. It was a touching moment.
But still Prince George was itching to get at the bilby so William crouched done with his son and holding him expertly with one arm, took some of the bilby’s feed with his other hand to coax the marsupial back.
Prince William was totally fearless as the bilby came over to eat out of his hands and George, a chip off the old block, also reached out to stroke the creature. Both parents protectively pulled him back.
“He’s trying to grab his ear,” said Kate a little worried. “If he gets it he’ll never let go,” said William as he kissed the top of his son’s head. “He’s got quite a strong grab actually.”
The Cambridge family marvelled at the native creature for quite a while almost oblivious to the cameras. “There’s something really special about having a one on one encounter with an animal you can touch,” Paul Davies said later. “They were just like any other family in the zoo.”
With all the feed gone, the couple picked up baby George and went over to unveil the rather dramatic plaque with an engraving dedicated to Prince George and sculpted bilbies on the top in silver metal. True to his parents’ predictions George immediately grabbed hold of a sculpted bilby ear and, yes, he wouldn’t let go.
In a speech thanking the royal couple and praising the work of the bilby preservation scheme, Cameron Kerr, Taronga’s Director, handed over a gift of a soft toy bilby and a yellow car sticker – “an Australian tradition” he said – which cheekily read “wild child on board”. Fortunately the royal couple laughed and George immediately put the sign in his mouth and tried to chew it.
“Munch, munch, munch,” said William who was holding George in his arms. Next his excited son threw the toy bilby on the floor much to his parents, horror. “He does love it, honestly,” said William.
George promptly threw his new bilby toy to the ground.
Cameron Kerr said the royal visit was a wonderful opportunity to raise awareness about Australia’s unique native animals, especially the endangered Bilby.
“Bilbies were once found right throughout Australia, but are now threatened in the wild. Taronga is part of a national breeding program across a number of Australian zoos and wildlife organisations that are involved in conservation, breeding and research to provide an insurance population to safeguard this species into the future,” he said.
After his bilby encounter George and the couple were introduced to a handful of onlookers, special “friends” of the zoo who were lucky enough to have a personal audience with the Cambridge family. Then he was handed back to his nanny 43-year-old Spaniard Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo who whisked him away, excitement over for the little Prince.
The couple next moved on to the Goodfellows Tree Kangaroo Enclosure before visiting the zoo’s iconic giraffe enclosure.
Here they fed Nyota, the taller of the two giraffes, and Kitoto, the smaller, with lovely fresh orange carrots. As he held out the carrots the giraffes unfurled their unfeasibly long tongues to grab the veg from the Duke’s hand causing much mirth.
William feeding one of the zoo’s giraffes.
Kate joined in also feeding the giraffes and William just couldn’t get enough, teasing the giraffe with the carrot so he could see more and more of its tongue which wrapped around the carrot in a most amusing way.
Next they walked past the elephants and on to sit down in the amphitheatre for an incredible display of swooping birds of prey and some of more of our native furry creatures.
Finally the couple finished their tour at the rhino conservation area and a group of brightly painted rhino sculptures part of Taronga Wild!, a mass public art exhibition and community conservation initiative raising awareness and crucial support for Taronga’s world leading Black Rhinoceros breeding program and in-situ conservation projects.
It comprises 125 rhino sculptures that have been decorated by some of Australia’s finest artists including Ken Done, and students from over 50 schools, to draw attention to the plight of rhinos in the wild. All sculptures are on display to the public until 28 April 2014 when they will be sold to raise funds for the Taronga Foundation’s conservation efforts.
This is a project that would certainly have interested the Duke who in February attended a high-level summit on the illegal wildlife trade in London alongside his father Prince Charles and brother Prince Harry to ensure the ‘survival of some of the world’s most treasured species’ including the rhino and set up his own initiative, a wildlife charity, United For Wildlife.
They met Mr John Scanlon, Secretary-General Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora who has worked with Prince William for a while and talked to the Duke extensively about the important work they were both doing.
“The Duke speaks passionately about his child – Prince George – having the opportunity to see these animals in the wild,” said John Scanlon afterwards. “He’s very passionate and engaged in this issue.”
As the three chatted, the Opera House and Harbour Bridge sparkling in the harbour formed the perfect Sydney backdrop to a truly memorable day at the zoo.
Juliet Rieden at the bilby enclosure awaiting Prince George’s arrival.
