July 31st, 2005, fair. The temperature reads more than 30C.
They gave Hiroki a block of ice at one-thirty in the Kanazawa Zoo that day.

How did Hiroki react to the block of ice?

The keeper explained about the wombats, and also showed the visitors some pictures of the wombats and
the National Park where Hiroki was found. The keeper then gave him the block of ice.

A little after one o'clock
Hiroki woke up since the keeper tempted him with the grass.

Hiroki who showed his teeth to the keeper

Hiroki, did you get angry even if the keeper gave you the grass and patted your head?
Hiroki won't allow the humans to invade his turf since the wombat is territorial, will he?

Slept again

The keeper explained about the wombats for ten minutes or so while Hiroki was sleeping.

Bogong National Park where Hiroki was found

It is said that Hiroki, who wandered in this park, was found and raised in the Melbourne Zoo,
and that he came to the Kanazawa Zoo, Yokohama City, Japan when he was 20 months old.

From a bird's-eye view

It's time to give Hiroki a block of ice
It is said that they filled this can with water halfway and froze it.

The block of ice appeared.

What was Hiroki's reaction?

He seemed to hear the sound that the keeper set the block of ice aside, and he woke up.

He went back to sleep at once.

Consequently the keeper came close to Hiroki,
and then he was going to let Hiroki go to the ice....

	Hiroki dashed!.
He stopped here. (The center of his enclosure where the tree is.)
	His head seemed to turn toward the ice, however, he might not have seen it.
He turned to the right and began to run.
	He stopped at the place where the tree was, and showed his teeth to the keeper. (He didn't yawn, but intimidated the keeper.)
He moved forward.
	He seems to be in a good mood as if he has gotten his anger off his mind.
Did you see me get angry?

The block of ice came to Hiroki, because Hiroki didn't go to it.
(In other words, the keeper took it over.)

Finally Hiroki seemed to get interested in the block of ice as it appeared before his face.

Um....What's this?

Touched!
　

I wonder if this is edible?

Hiroki licked the block of ice.

(He has been with the block of ice for about fifteen minutes and licked it a few times;
for ten seconds or so each time.)

　

Pushed

Yawned
　　

Groomed

I'm going to leave......

This day's event came to an end since Hiroki was going to sleep.
The keeper brought the block of ice to Hiroki.

A little before two o'clock

Licked it a bit, but....

Fell asleep soon

A little after three o'clock

The wooden wombat which is as heavy as Hiroki?!

The signboard says,
"it(the wooden wombat) has the same weight of Hiroki,
so please try to lift it up in order to get an idea of how heavy Hiroki is."

It was so heavy! I could lift it up a bit, though.
I wonder how much Hiroki weighs now? Maybe more than 30kg?

The wombat shaped signboard newly appeared!

The relationships between the wombats and the koalas are written in the signboard.

Thank you for coming to see me receiving the block of ice today!
Did you enjoy it?

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