The continent of Australia is home to some of the most rare and special wildlife in the whole world. Although some may think life in the harsh Australian outback is impossible, it thrives there. The uniqueness of Australian animals such as the kangaroo, koala, wombat, cassowary, dingo, kookaburra, platypus, Tasmanian devil wallaby and the echidna, make Australia a truly special place. Each of these animals has its own unique way of surviving and thriving. The Kangaroo is the most well known of these animals, and is the national animal of Australia. This marsupial got its name when the English settlers asked the aboriginals what the “jumping animal” was, and they answered, “kangaroo”, which means, “I don’t understand your question.”
The kangaroo is a marsupial, which means that after a baby is born it spends several months in its mothers pouch developing more fully, since it is only one inch long when it is born. A baby kangaroo is called a joey, like all other baby marsupials. After about eight months in their mothers pouch, joeys climb out and start grazing by their mom’s side. These young kangaroos will only occasionally climb back into their mother’s pouches. Kangaroos graze like cows or horses on grasses, leaves and other small bushes and shrubs. They typically stay in small groups, but are sometimes seen in large groups called mobs. Down under, the adult males are called boomers, and the adult females are known as flyers. In its lifetime a kangaroo will NEVER stop growing. There are forty-eight different species of kangaroos, the wallaby is one of them, but six species of the forty-eight are extinct. The koala is probably the second most well known animal in Australia. The koala or the koala bear is actually not a bear at all but a marsupial. The koala name means “no water”. The koalas are named this because they don’t drink. They get their liquids from the leaves they eat.
Like the kangaroo, the mother koala carries its young in its pouch. Koalas don’t spend all of there life with their mother, only a few years. Then they go on their own way.
This shy animal spends days in the eucalyptus trees eating its leaves. The eucalyptus leaves are very strong and hard to digest. The koala adapts to this with 6 feet of intestine in its body, and when it changes trees, it eats dirt and stones to help break down its food. It only leaves the safety of the trees when is moves from one tree to the next.
These animals seem extremely cute and cuddly, in fact they are! A few years ago I was on a trip to the Outback, and I got the chance to interact with a few of the animals mentioned in this paper. One of them was the koala. I was given a chance to hold this animal. It felt like holding a big, heavy baby. I had to be really careful with the way I held it. If the koala felt like I wasn’t holding it tight enough it would dig its long sharp claws into my skin! It was a great experience!
The wombat is another marsupial that lives in the grasslands and the forests of Australia. When it is born it is totally dependent on its mother. It lives in the pouch where it nurses and sleeps until it grows big enough to leave the pouch. Then it stays by its mother’s side, and follows her wherever she goes.
The wombat eats mainly grasses, roots, bark and fungus. It spends its time in southeastern Australia. It creates dens and tunnels as its home, and it is usually alone unless it is mating. This animal has the teeth of a rodent, and a thick head and body with a small tail. It can run quickly for its size, and is seen as a pest or a cute pet.
The Cassowary is one of the strangest birds to walk the earth. Like its cousin, the emu, it has long legs for running and it can’t fly. It has a ruffle of skin under its beak similar to a turkey’s, and a hard helmet crest on the top of its head. This giant bird got its name from this crest. Cassowary means ”horned head.” The crest is believed to be used for breaking through the brush and growth when it’s running.
The cassowary is a very shy creature, and it tends to avoid humans. When cornered, it will attack, and it has been known to kill a human. This bird eats mainly fruits, seeds, berries, and snails, but it will eat other vegetation as well. It is always hungry, and looking for food. It lives in Australia, New Guinea, and the other surrounding islands.
Cassowaries lay three to five eggs at one time. The father sits on the eggs until they hatch, but both the mother and the father will help in taking care of the young. These birds stay in families even after the young have fully grown.
The dingo is another famous Australian animal mainly because no one knows where it came from or how it got there. All that is known is that it wasn’t originally there. This wild dog is believed to either be a domestic dog gone wild or brought over with the aboriginals when they came to the island. The aboriginal peoples hold these dogs in high regard in their society. The dogs help them find food, and keep them warm at night.
These wild dogs are small to medium sized, feed on small kangaroos, rabbits, and sometimes on small sheep or lambs. They do not live in packs like wolves, and only rarely hunt in small groups. Their call is not like a domestic dog, but more like a wolf howl.
They have one to eight pups in one litter. The pups are born in a small den, and come out after they are a few weeks old. These dogs live all over the mainland, have NEVER attacked a human, but because of their eating habits, they have become enemies to farmers. The farmers use traps, hunting, and poison to try to protect their crops and livestock from the dingo.
The kookaburra is a very special bird that is known for its very special call. It is compared to a human laughing, and enjoyed by the Australian people. It has a number of nicknames, but the most common is the “bushman’s clock,” because it typically sings at dawn and dusk.
It is a member of the kingfishers group but it doesn’t eat fish. It feeds on insects and crabs. Nesting in the spring, it lays two to four eggs in tree holes and termite nests. Both mother and father take turns incubating the eggs until they hatch. Chicks are born with no feathers, and remain in the nest permanently for approximately four weeks. Around this time, they will start venturing from the nest for short periods of time. The parents continue feeding the young for two more months.
Likely one of the most unique mammals in the world, the duckbilled platypus has characteristics of a beaver and a duck! Unlike other milk-producing mammals with fur, it lays eggs in small dens on the banks of rivers.
Platypuses are nocturnal and feed mainly on worms, crustaceans, fish and other small aquatic life. This food is sometimes stored in the pouches of its cheeks. A full sized platypus can eat the equivalent of its own body weight in one night. A platypus resides in fresh water habitat, and it’s webbed feet and flat tail assist in swimming. For defense, male platypus has a venomous spur on the back of its feet that can kill a small mammal or stun a human.
In contrast to the well-known Warner Bros. cartoon character, the Tasmanian devil is a calm creature, which only bears its teeth when provoked. The small marsupial is found in the wild only on the island of Tasmania. The Tasmanian devil’s is now protected, as it’s existence is threatened by cats, foxes and other non-native island animals.
This 20-pound marsupial is nocturnal (like most other marsupials) and feeds on carrion, lizards, other small marsupials and birds. It bears two to four young, undeveloped offspring. These babies spend the remainder of their youth in their mother’s pouch as they grow and get stronger. Tasmanian devils are great swimmers.
The wallaby is a small marsupial that is much like a kangaroo but a great deal smaller. Its name comes from the aboriginal word “wolaba”. To cool down in the hot Australian Outback, wallabies lick their forearms until they are covered in saliva. The sun then evaporates the saliva, and heat is removed from the skin. The cooled blood then pumps through the body -acting as a coolant to the remainder of the wallaby’s system.
These animals are VERY similar to their cousin - the kangaroo. They eat small shrubs, grasses, and other vegetation. Wallabies also raise their young in a similar way. A newborn wallaby is extremely small in size and spends its first few months of its life in its mothers pouch. The wallabies are hunted by dingoes, and because they eat the farmer’s crops, they are not always well liked. Another unusual creature, the Echidna, is a small anteater having the resemblance of a porcupine or hedgehog. It spends its time poking its nose through underbrush in search of small insects. Their noses are super sensitive to electronic signals that their prey sends off. It has two types of hair, short, fine hair for warmth and long, spiny hair for protection. When threatened, these animals will burrow into soft ground until only its back is showing, or curl into a hard spiny, ball (similar to an armadillo) on harder surfaces.
Echidnas are monotremes or egg-laying mammals. After the egg is laid, the mother echidna puts it in her pouch. There the egg hatches and becomes a puggle, or a baby echidna. There it suckles or nurses, but since the mother has no nipples, it is called suckling. After a few weeks the puggle starts to develop spine and the mother kicks it out and buries it. The mother then comes back every few days to suckle, and after seven months it is old enough to go out on its own.
Life on the continent of Australia is not easy, but each of these animals has its own unique and special way of coping with the extremes. The harsh climates of Australia together with non-native animals, and human activities make for a hard time surviving. What is so fantastic about all of these creatures is there ability to survive.