Prince George Meets a Bilby

Posted on April 21, 2014

Prince George made his second official appearance during the royal tour of Australia. Along with his mom and dad, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, George visited the Taronga Zoo where they opened the new Bilby exhibit which is named in honor of Prince George.

George is such an active baby. Once he got a look at that bilby he started kicking his little legs and waving his arms so he could get a closer look. He went right up the glass and was apparently ready to dive right in.

His dad, Prince William, kept a tight grip on him. He was handed his own stuffed bilby (they are an endangered species) which he promptly threw to the ground. It clearly was no substitute for the real thing. George is teething and drooling quite a bit. At the very beginning of the video you can see Catherine wipe his mouth with her hand and then discretely wipe it on her dress.

The Taronga Zoo Director, was very happy at the royal visit which helps promote the cause of wildlife conservation. Director Cameron Kerr said: "We were honoured to be visited by The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to acknowledge the official gift of the Australian Government celebrating the birth of their son, Prince George. This gift has enabled Taronga Zoo to expand its role in the regional breeding and recovery program for Bilbies, which are a vulnerable species, with the intention to breed and release these beautiful animals back into the wild in the future. It was wonderful and very encouraging to see that the Royal couple share our appreciation for Australian wildlife and commitment to wildlife conversation."

In the video you can see George meeting his namesake. Bilby Keeper Paul Davies was thrilled at George's reaction saying, "Prince George was absolutely fantastic. I've never seen a little boy quite so excited about meeting a bilby. He had his hands up on the glass of the exhibit and he was patting the glass. A big part of wildlife conservation is about raising awareness and today we've an opportunity to showcase the bilby not only to Australia, but to the world." Take a look:

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