Pope receives animal visitors in Australia
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If you’re the pope, you don’t go to the zoo, the zoo comes to you.
After Benedict XVI expressed interest in seeing some Australian animals during his visit to Sydney this week, staff from the Taronga Zoo brought to his retreat a smattering of exotic visitors: a red-necked wallaby, a spiny echidna, a frill-neck lizard, a baby crocodile and others.
The 81-year-old pontiff showed one clear favorite, smiling as he stroked a koala and scratched it behind the ear, according to the Associated Press.
The pope also reportedly patted all the animals with the exception of the hedgehog-like echidna, because it has spikes on its back. And according to the Telegraph, he ‘appeared slightly uneasy at the sight of Sebastian, a two-metre long carpet python. The pope exclaimed ‘Attention’, before reaching out gingerly to touch the reptile.’
The pope, best known as a cat lover, has been in the spotlight for his affection for animals before, like the time the Vatican tried to bar his two beloved cats from moving into the papal quarters with him. It looks like Australia was a little more accommodating.
-- Tony Barboza
