The saying goes you should "never smile at a crocodile".
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Topics assumes that applies to alligators, too, but the folks at Australian Reptile Park were happy to defy that logic and pose for the camera as 10 new adult male 'gators arrived from Australia Zoo.
Thankfully, we can report the critters were unloaded safely and are now part of the 55-strong population at the hands-on zoo on the Central Coast.
"It's been a crazy morning, with a few close calls there," Australian Reptile Park director Tim Faulkner said.
"The ground is still wet and still slippery from recent rainy weather which added an extra element of danger.
"We all were kept on edge all morning but are happy to report all of the gators are safe in their new home.
"We didn't know what sort of alligator was going to come out of each box as we opened them.
"Was this one going to be nice?
"Or was it going to come charging out with us being the first thing it sees?
"We were kept on our toes, that's for sure."
In case you were wondering what names the alligators have been given, the new additions have been named after famous rappers with Notorious B.I.G, Flavor Flav and Tupac among the fresh faces.
That got Topics thinking, where does one start when it comes to naming an alligator?
A quick google search revealed Chomp, Brutus and Swampy are popular names across the globe for gators. Topics would like to give an honourable mention to Senor Slither as a sweet name.
The bar has gone up, up up ...
DON'T you hate it when a cooler and more talented dad makes you feel totally inadequate?
It all started just before the pandemic hit - meaning while the rest of us were trying to decide whether to make sourdough or learn a language, Scott Fincher had a pre-made COVID project ready to go.
"My second son Leo is Disney Pixar's Up mad. He's watched the movie lots of times and he had been asking for a cubby," he says.
"I thought I was going to do a simplified version of the Up house but it soon turned into, 'Well, I should probably try to do a scale replica and I'll see how far I can go'.
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The build was no mean feat. The house was originally designed to be a cartoon abode for the likes of the characters Ellie and Carl Fredricksen and as such, there is nothing "builders grade" about this project.
Just looking at it it's easy to see it's not your average backyard cubby. Everything from the high-pitched roof, to the rainbow of colours on its walls - which if you look carefully are all slightly different shades, just like the animated movie - are dead giveaways it's not your average build, even if you're not familiar with the film.
Then you add on top of that the fact that it has two storeys, carpet and linoleum flooring, electric lighting and Wi-Fi - perfect for steaming films for sleepovers.
"Basically, everything is custom," Fincher says.
Topics congratulates Scott on a magnificent project but has mixed feelings about the standard it's set for other dads across the country.
Wonder if he delivers to Newcastle ...
Wallaby cam switched on
JUST days after the Newcastle Herald reported that the city's council will investigate establishing a live webcam network to boost tourism, one of Australia's most iconic threatened species, the brush-tailed rock-wallaby, is set to be the star of its own show, with a new day-in-the-life-of livestream now launched from deep within a NSW Northern Tablelands wilderness area.
NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service have switched on "wallaby cam" allowing anyone anywhere a glimpse of their hilltop home.
"A camera deep in the Oxley Wild Rivers National Park in the Northern Tablelands enables people to see a window into the lives of a very rare and special brush-tailed rock-wallaby colony that's not often seen," Mr Fawcett said.
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