Like all zoos and wildlife parks around the country Townsville's Billabong Sanctuary is closed because of the coronavirus lockdown, but for staff the business of caring for the residents goes on.
Employees are working harder than ever to keep up routines and give extra attention to the animals disrupted by the change.
Owner Bob Flemming said his staff had plenty of work to do.
"Every day we do our bird flight show," Mr Flemming said.
"We bring the wombats out for a cuddle, the koalas have a cuddle, we bring out the pythons and we handle the crocodiles."
Bird manager Elyse Thomas said she was still running the daily bird show — without spectators.
"If they stop flying for even a week we could see a decline in their behaviour," she said.
"It could throw the whole bird show off altogether. It's important that if we want to keep a bird show we keep doing it every single day."
Koalas and wombats without daily photo opportunities are "missing" the attention.
"Sometimes the koalas walk at us to demand cuddles," Ms Thomas said.
One koala, Puzzle, is an animal the sanctuary allows visitors to cuddle and Ms Thomas said the marsupial was definitely missing having visitors.
Lessons from Tonka the famous wombat
When Cyclone Yasi shut the park for 10 weeks in 2011, staff saw a major change in animal behaviour.
Tonka the wombat made international headlines during the closure after he developed depression and refused to eat.
Although veterinarians never found a physical cause for his condition, he bounced back as soon as visitors returned.
Mr Flemming said the experience revealed how much animals appreciated routine and visitors.
"We're really trying to cater to the ones that we know do enjoy that attention and we give them extra cuddles and love," Ms Thomas said.
Ready to ropen
It's not just the animals at Billabong Sanctuary that are eager to welcome back visitors.
Mr Flemming said staff were looking forward to reopening when COVID-19 restrictions were lifted.
"We'll be one of the first attractions to be able to open," he said. "We're looking forward to that."
