'He's trying to grab his ear': Prince George meets the Easter bunny at the zoo #CarryGobySeanKellz #FutureGroupNG via @i_amreginaldjr

PRINCE George squealed with delight today as he met Australia's version of the Easter Bunny for the first time, a bilby named after him at the zoo in Sydney.

Prince George looks delightedly at a bilby – named especially after him[PA]

If you think of Kings of the past he has got that worldly presence

Keeper Paul Davies

The future King, who will be nine months old on Tuesday, was taken on a trip to Taronga Zoo with his parents, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who offically opened the Prince George Bilby Exhibit at the Sydney landmark.
They met George, a three-and-a-half-year-old bilby in the Australian Nightlife enclosure. His original name was Boy but he was renamed George two months ago to celebrate the Prince's birth last year.
The infant Prince, carried by his mother when they arrived, looked on in wonder at the crowd surrounding the enclosure and then wriggled his arms and legs in excitement, squealing and gurgling when he spotted his namesake bilby.
His parents took it in turns to hold him in their arms and to support him standing up on the ground, restraining him as he tried to climb into the enclosure to get at the bilby.

William and George are so close looking at the animals together [PA]

"He's trying to grab his ear," said Kate, 32, who was wearing a yellow dress. "If he gets it he'll never let go," said William, who kissed the top of his son's head.
As the keeper went to coax the bilby closer to George, Kate stepped in to stop him, thinking it a bad idea. "He's got quite a strong grab actually," she said.
Zoo officials had to apply to the national Stud Book Keeper to have George the bilby' new name officially recognised and the name Boy dropped.
"It did take me quite a while to stop calling him,"Boy George," said keeper Paul Davies, who thought that the animal looked like a George and was regal too.
"If you think of Kings of the past he has got that worldly presence. He has very little fear of anything. He calls his own shots. He is a very confident little animal," said Mr Davies.

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The Prince reaches for a stuffed toy – one of many presents on the Australian visit [REUTERS]

George seems content chewing on a "wild child" car sticker [REUTERS]

Greater bilbies, nocturnal marsupials who hide in burrows during the day, are rabbit-like creatures with large ears that pick up sounds of insects and have long noses to sniffs out seeds and bulbs.
They were once common in Australia's grassy woodlands but have been driven to the verge of extinction by predators such as foxes and cats and competition from rabbits, all introduced to the country by British settlers.
With only 10,000 left in the wild in northern Queensland and Western Australia, a conservation campaign begun in the late 1960s has gathered pace in the last decade with chocolate Easter bilbies replacing chocolate bunnies in many Australian children's homes.
Australia's government under former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd gave Taronga Zoo's bilby preservation programme a Aus $10,000(£5,500) donation as a national gift to commemorate George's birth on July 22 last year.
In bright sunshine, George and his parents were shown around the bilby enclosure by Cameron Kerr, the Zoo's director and chief executive, and Mr Davies. George, dressed in blue shirt, navy shorts, socks, and shoes, was carried by Kate inside the Nightlife exhibit to view other nocturnal animals, including a bandicoot, before emerging to have a proper look at the bilby.

SEE ALL THE PHOTOS OF THE ROYAL FAMILY'S OFFICIAL TOUR HERE

 

Kate holds onto her son as he meets the zoo animals [EPA]

William and the keeper took it in turns to feed the rabbit-like creature. Mr Davies, a 57-year-old Briton originally from Hertford, enticed him with a tasty dish of beef, carrot, and live, wriggling mealworms which William also fed him.
After touring the enclosure, William and Kate unveiled a plaque that read: A national gift from the Commonwealth Government to commemorate the birth of His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge.
The baby Prince interrupted Mr Kerr's speech with some enthusiastic squealing before gleefully taking a present from the zoo director, a stuffed toy bilby.
There was another gift too: a yellow car sticker that said "Wild child on board". George happily took it and tried to chew it. "Munch, munch, munch," said William.

Wills, Kate and George enjoying their family day out together [REUTERS]

 

His son threw the toy bilby on the floor, as he tried to chew the sticker, to the laughter of everyone watching. "He does love it honestly," said William, who was wearing a blue short-sleeved check shirt and navy trousers.
Mr Kerr said he hoped the royal visit would help highlight efforts to conserve Australia's native animals. "Bilbies were once found right throughout Australia, but are now threatened in the wild." He said.
"Taronga is part of a national breeding programme across a number of Australian zoos and wildlife organisations that are involved in conservation, breeding and research to provide an insurance population to safeguard this species into the future."

William gets a tongue lashing feeding a giraffe at Taronga Zoo, Sydney [REUTERS]

Kate and Wills stroke a sleepy koala at the zoo in Sydney [PA]

George was handed over to his nanny, Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo, and taken off to the shade as the rest of the royal party went on to the tree kangaroo enclosure, where supervisor Vanessa Stebbings and keeper Sam Bennett encouraged them to feed the small marsupials with tasty snacks including avocado.
The couple, who were cheered by crowds lining the route, also stopped off to feed carrots to the giraffes before going on to view an Australian native animal show featuring a koala, a pink galah bird, and other species.
The royal couple were greeted by more than 3,000 people on the route during the tour of the zoo. Some had been waiting long before the 9.30am opening."Several hundred people were here in long lines first thing this morning," said Lisa Keen, the communications manager.
Shortly before the Duke and Duchess arrived the zoo was declared full and open to no more admissions.

Playful George is a handful for his mum Kate, Duchess of Cornwall [PA]