AUSTRALIAN ANIMALS

INDEX

1. DESCRIPTION

2. GREY KANGAROO

3. TASMANIAN DEVIL&127;

4. HAIRY-NOSED WOMBAT

5. THE BILBY

6. SUGAR GLIDER

7. NUMBAT

8. CHUDITCH

9. LINKS

1. Description


Marsupials are mammals with a wide range of unusual and interesting features. There are around 30 different families of marsupials and they are found in: The characteristics of marsupials include:

2. Grey Kangaroo


Grey kangaroos are found only in Australia. Males can stand up to two metres tall. The largest recorded male was three metres tall, and weighed over 140 kgs. They are completely herbivorous and eat mostly grass and leaves.

Grey kangaroos have a gestation period of around 28 days. When the young are born, they live in the their mother's pouch for ten months after birth, followed by an additional six months outside the pouch but feeding on the milk of its mother. Grey kangaroos travel in small groups known as "mobs." These groups are dominated by the largest or strongest male. The leader of these groups is often called a "boomer." The boomer is the only male to mate and dominates the younger males in the mob by kicking, biting, and boxing.


3. Tasmanian Devil


The Tasmanian Devil is found only in Tasmania, although evidence suggests that it once occupied much of the Australian mainland. The Tasmanian Devil grows to between 4 and 9 kg, is of stocky build with a brownish black coat. The Devil has a white throat patch and white spots on the sides and backside, and a pinkish snout. The head is quite large with well developed jaw muscles. The Tasmanian Devil has an inaccurate reputation as a savage animal. In reality, these marsupials take most of their large prey such as wombats, sheep, and rabbits, in the form of carrion. It is an efficient scavenger, eating even bones and fur. The Tasmanian Devil forages using its sense of smell to find food at night.

Tasmanian Devils have litters between 2 and 4 young with gestation taking about a month. The young then travel to the pouch where they remain for about three and a half months. By eight months, the young are completely weaned. These animals are nocturnal and usually live alone. Occasionally, when individuals congregate at food sources such as carrion, they interact aggressively. When fighting, Tasmanian Devils make growls, screeches, and vibratos. It is this sound which first gave them the name of Devils. Early settlers were quite scared of the noise which they made at night.


4. Hairy-Nosed Wombat


Hairy-nosed wombats have hairy noses and a thick, stocky body that averages one meter in length. Males and females both are covered with a soft, silky brown coat. Their heads are large, with small eyes and pointed ears. They have powerful legs with strong claws. The females have a rearward opening pouch. These wombats are nocturnal feeders. They have weak eyesight but a good sense of smell and hearing. They are vegetarians and eat mainly grass. Mating occurs during Winter, resulting in a single wombat born in the Summer. The length of gestation is unknown, for the animals tend to be very shy when under observation. The young wombat is carried in the mother's pouch for approximately six months, and it is nursed for eight to nine months.



Hairy-nosed wombats live in a series of burrows called warrens. Usually one wombat is found per burrow, but occasionally males and females are found together. Wombats are monogamous. They have a home range of aproximately 15 acres and like to sunbathe close to their tunnel entrances early in the day.


5. The Bilby


The Bilby can be found in small areas of Queensland and the border area between Western Australia and the Northern Territory. They are small animals and average between 300gms and 1600gms. The Bilby is a very unusual animal in its apearance. It has long ears, long nose, and a bicolored tail, which is black and white. It has powerful forearms for digging and soft, silky fur. Bilbies mostly eat insects and insect larvae, which they dig out of the soil. They also eat some plant material and small vertebrates. The breeding season is March - May. The female has a litter of 1 to 3 babies. The gestation time is short relative to other marsupials. Bilbies are solitary, with a male and female coming together only to breed. The young leave their mother's burrow upon maturation. They are nocturnal, terrestrial animals, with the interesting distinction of being the only members of their family to dig and live in burrows in the ground. Each burrow spirals down from a single entrance 1 or 2 meters into the ground. Individuals often dig and use several burrows on their home range. Dalgytes sleep in their burrows squatting rather than laying down.


6. Sugar Glider


Sugar gliders are found in Eastern Australia from eastern Queensland to south-eastern South Australia. They are small animals with abundant soft, fine fur and a membrane which stretches between their wrist and knee. The sugar glider eats nectar, possibly some pollen. Its tongue has a brush tip that is used for sipping nectar from flowers. Their breeding season lasts from June to December. Females typically have two litters per year with 1-3 young in each litter. Young leave the pouch while still relatively unfurred and remain in the nest until weaned at 95-100 days old. Males and females reach sexual maturity within the first year after birth (8-9 months for females, 7.5-12months for males). Sugar gliders form nesting groups of up to 25 individuals. During the mating season male-female pairs are the most common social group. During the early birthing season most males are solitary and groups consist of a female with her first litter.


7. Numbat


Numbats can be found only in Western Australia. They are small animals weighing between 275 and 550 grams. Numbats have a black stripe along their head and a pointed snout with a small mouth and a long, sticky tongue that can reach as far as 100mm from the mouth opening. Along its back the Numbat has 6 or 7 vertical white lines that contrast with a background of darker fur. The front legs are stout and all four feet have large, thick claws. The female has 4 mammae but no pouch. The Numbat consumes mainly ants and termites that are found in the decaying tree material on the forest floor. They get to this food source by clawing through the dead logs and using their highly specialized tongue to probe the termite colonies. The Numbat breeds between December and April. The young (usually 2-4) stay with the mother for 7 months. Because the female has no pouch, while the young are attached to the mothers mammae, they are quite exposed and are protected only by the moter's long hair. The Numbat is the only marsupial that is mainly active during the day. It spends the majority of its time searching for food and is considered a solitary species (except during the breeding season). Numbats are agile, can easily climb trees, and are often seen basking in the sun.


8. Chuditch


The Chuditch or Western Quoll is the largest carnivorous marsupial found in Western Australia.

An average adult male weighs about 1300 gms and females about 900 gms. The Chuditch has a pointed face and large rounded ears with large eyes. Its coat is strikingly marked, with 40-70 white spots scattered randomly over the brown fur on the head and back. Like other marsupials, the breeding season extends from late Autumn to early Winter. Each female may mate with several different males over a period of about a week. Gestation takes less than three weeks and newborn young are a tiny 5 mm. Litters range in size from 2 to 6 young. Female Chuditch carry their young in a pouch for the first nine weeks of life. After this, the young have grown quite heavy and are left in a burrow whilst their mother forages. While Chuditch have been known to live for at least 5 years in captivity, wild individuals normally die before they are 4 years old.


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