Australian Animals - by Tre

 A few days ago my family and I were lucky enough to visit a wildlife sanctuary on our way to the town of Bicheno. It was certainly different from Alaskan sanctuaries: kangaroos lounged all over the place, echidnas waddled around in their enclosures, and Tasmanian devils raced around behind fences. We were actually encouraged to feed and pet the kangaroos, but we had to be careful not to let the wombats or Tasmanian devils get too close to your fingers—they bite (even if the wombats do look like walking ottomans). The animals in the sanctuary were extremely different from the ones we were used to. Many are endemic to Australia, and some are found only in Tasmania.

Australia is home to a very select breed of mammals, a group called marsupials. You've probably heard of them—the funny little guys with pouches? Some of the better-known marsupials are kangaroos, wombats, possums, and Tasmanian devils.

 Another unique group of animals found in Australia are monotremes, which are egg-laying mammals. They are found only in Australia and New Guinea. A relatively well-known example is the platypus, but echidnas also fall into this group.

For many animals, Australia is the only place they can be found. Some 46% of birds, 69% of mammals, 94% of amphibians, and 93% of reptiles are endemic, which makes Australia an interesting evolutionary experiment.

The last time Australia had a naturally occurring large influx of new species was 90-105 million years ago, when it was attached, as part of a supercontinent, to New Zealand and Antarctica. This means that Australian species had millions of years of evolution without any contact with the outside world, save perhaps the occasional seabird. Animals and plants adapted and became extremely specialized to Australia's unique climate and habitat. They developed pouches, jumping as their main form of movement, incredible bite strength, and all sorts of other adaptations that are rare or unheard of in other parts of the world.

Now, just for the sake of it, I'll give you a quick outline of some of my favorite Australian species:

You better know these guys. Kangaroos are the classic Australian animal, but what we sometimes don’t realize is that there are several different species. There are four main kangaroo species: red kangaroos, eastern gray kangaroos (aka forester kangaroos), western gray kangaroos, and antilopine kangaroos. The ones we got to meet were forester kangaroos. They're pretty small compared to your red kangaroos, which can get up to 8 feet tall and weigh around 200 pounds. A large male forester might be 6 feet tall and around 130 pounds—which is still pretty big. 

Here's some funny videos of forester kangaroos hopping and walking around. They look hilarious when they walk, often using their tail as another leg.

Another animal in the kangaroo family is the wallaby. Wallabies are often mistaken for kangaroos.  The biggest difference is that wallabies only grow to around 3 feet, 45 pounds. Interestingly enough, there is also a group called wallaroos, which look similar to wallabies and kangaroos and have an intermediate size between the other groups.

The term wallaby is a generalized term. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and wallaroos, called macropods. “Wallaby” really just means anything in the kangaroo family that is smaller than a kangaroo or a wallaroo that hasn’t been designated otherwise. Confusing, right? It’s easy to confuse the different macropods, especially because many of their designations are kind of arbitrary, such as that kangaroos are just the four largest macropod species.

The name wallaby refers to about thirty different species, many of which interbreed and look quite similar. One of the more unique species and my personal favorite is the pademelon. You can recognize them because they look like they swallowed a melon.

An albino pademelon that we got to see.

Tasmanian devils are worthy of their name. They are known to scream, screech, sneeze, cough, growl, and snort to scare off other animals. When Europeans first heard their screeches and growls, they imagined devils in the bush, hence the name. 

Tasmanian devils are the largest carnivorous marsupial, eating birds, snakes, and other mammals up to the size of small kangaroos. Their jaws can open to eighty degrees and they have the strongest bite, compared to their size, of any mammal. Their bite is strong enough to crush bone and they are known to have bitten through metal cage bars. Once they kill an animal, many devils will sleep inside its carcass so that they can go back to eating as soon as they wake up. They’ll eat more food than they need and store the excess as fat in their tails.

All in all, Tasmanian devils are…well, devilish. Although they can be kind of cute, especially when they are young. As adults, they are about the size of a small dog, although they look like a cross between a bear, a pig, and a skunk. At least to me. I don’t think they’ll be too offended by it. If you want to learn more about these creatures, you can read my sister's article.

   

You’ve definitely heard of emus before, but this report wouldn’t be complete without them. Emus are a species of flightless birds endemic to Australia. Adult emus weigh about 110-130 pounds, depending on gender (females tend to weigh more) and can reach up to around 6 feet in height. They have soft brown feathers and very long legs that allow them to run up to 31 mph. More proof that everything in Australia wants to kill you: emu kicks are strong enough to kill a dingo (An Australian wild dog species) and they kick if they feel threatened. Another Australian bird, the cassowary, is a close relative of the emu. It looks like an emu with a bright blue head. The cassowary is classified as the world’s most dangerous bird and is known to attack dogs and humans if it feels threatened. However, it is extremely wary of civilization.

This particular emu was named Jerry and yes, those are kangaroos hanging out in the enclosure with him. 

Like Tasmanian devil's, quolls are carnivorous marsupials. Of the six species of quoll, four are native to Australia and two are native to New Guinea. Here we have a sleeping spotted-tail Quoll, which is about the size of a domestic house cat. Despite their small size, Quolls will eat anything. They can eat small animals like possums, bandicoots, and rats, but can also prey on larger animals like small kangaroos. They manage this by jumping onto their larger prey’s backs and biting their necks. 

Tawny frogmouths are another random animal that I thought should be included in this less-than-comprehensive blog post. I include them because I like how they look. They are native to Mainland Australia and Tasmania. 

Although often mistaken for owls since they are nocturnal birds with big eyes, they are only similar due to convergent evolution. Tawny frogmouths mainly eat insects, but, like an owl, they’ll gulp down the occasional frog or small reptile. They are actually more similar to nightjars than owls.

Tawny Frogmouth populations are staying relatively stable, however they are having a shortage of old trees to nest in. They only like to nest in old trees because they are easier to hide in. The birds can stick out their neck and attach themselves to a tree limb, making themselves look almost exactly like just another branch. 

For tawny frogmouths, “nest” is a relative term. The two parents (which mate for life) simply pile up a bunch of twigs and leaves. Chicks have even fallen out of the nest as parents are swapping brooding shifts.

And now we get to my personal favorite—echidnas. They are native to Australia and New Guinea and are Australia’s most widespread mammal, found from its snowy mountains to harsh deserts.

Echidnas are usually 10-20 inches long, with adult males weighing up to 13 pounds and females weighing up to 10. There are two main types of echidnas: long-beaked and short-beaked. Long-beaked have a longer snout, tend to be larger, and have fewer spines scattered throughout their short hair than short-beaked. There are actually four species of echidnas: the western long-beaked echidna, the eastern long-beaked echidna, the short-beaked echidna, and the recently rediscovered Sir David's long-beaked echidna. 

Echidnas' diet consists of ants and termites. When you combine this with what they look like, it’s pretty clear why they're called “spiny anteaters.” However, they are actually not related to anteaters, hedgehogs, or porcupines. There’s another example of convergent evolution.

These little guys are actually the oldest mammal species still alive today. They evolved 20-50 million years ago and have all sorts of interesting adaptations—but you’ll need to see my next science post if you want to learn more about them. 

I know many of you are thinking "Wait, where's the koalas?" Keep in mind that this is not a full list, it just includes the ones that we have gotten to see at the sanctuary and in the wild. During our time at the sanctuary, we got to see many wonderful animals—which I've outlined for you. Since then, we've seen several species of wallaby on our hikes and explorations. Tasmanian wildlife is everywhere, and it makes exploring even cooler when you run into a wallaby on the trail. 

Australia has so many amazing animals—but they need help. Tasmanian devils, koalas, Proserpine rock wallabies, spotted tail quolls, and many more are endangered; many birds and other marsupials are even critically endangered. This list is growing larger with introduced predators, habitat loss, and animals being hit by cars. Australia's animals are incredible and so much fun to see, but how much longer will we be able to see them? Luckily, scientists are working hard to protect these animals, helping them to survive and thrive in a changed environment.

All in all, Australia’s animals are unique and interesting, and I would definitely recommend visiting if only to see them.