The kindergarten received a visit from Wild Action, a company that specialises in allowing children to experience Australian wildlife in a safe, familiar environment.

Wild Action believes country people should not miss out on all the fun of zoos and runs a `The zoo comes to you' program to educate students, adults and young children about Australian Wildlife.

The kids at Marrang Kindergarten received a visit from a number of animals including a live baby salt-water crocodile, live (non-venomous) python snakes, fresh-water turtles, frogs, skinks, dragon lizards and geckoes.

The children were taught about the basic dietary requirements of each animal, where they live and why they look the way they do.

Marrang Kindergarten's Mel Rickard said the children were given the chance to touch, feel and hold the animals.

``The kids loved it,'' she said.

``Even the ones who were a bit apprehensive at first enjoyed it. They weren't forced to touch the animals if they didn't want to, and the ones who were too nervous to hold them were given a small part of the animal, like the tail, to pat until they felt more comfortable.''

Wild Action visits both Marrang and Cooinda Kindergartens in Stawell once a year.