Unique Aussie Wildlife
Australia has a number of unique animals, many that seem to contradict the laws of nature itself, such as mammals that lay eggs and birds with a sense of humour! Wildlife lecturer Andrew Wegener looks at some examples of God’s amazing creation that can be found in the Greater Melbourne region.
echidna
The The echidna, also called the spiny anteater, looks like a hedgehog or porcupine, and is closely related to the platypus—both belonging to a unique mammal group of monotremes, or egg-laying mammals.
An echidna is covered by hair plus hundreds of non-poisonous, sharp spines that protect it from predators. When threatened, the echidna rapidly burrows into the ground, leaving just some spikes visible. Or, if the ground is hard, it rolls into a spiny ball, discouraging predators.
Being active during the day, they’re easy to get to see. They feed on ants and termites, using a tube-like mouth and a tongue that extend up to 20 cm.
The female lays a single egg, which takes up to 10 days to hatch. The baby will live in a temporary pouch for eight weeks. You’ll see echidnas throughout most of south-eastern Australia.
Places to view (if visiting Melbourne for the Games): Melbourne Zoo, Healesville Sanctuary, Dandenong Ranges parks, Yarra Valley, most national parks and large nature reserves.
platypus
The platypus has a cute appearance but strange biological mechanisms, making it one of the world’s most intriguing animals.
Its duck-like bill is sensitive and, rather then sight or smell, is used it to search freshwater riverbeds for crayfish, worms and insect larvae. With webbing on its feet, the platypus is a fast swimmer, and can remain underwater for up to six minutes.
The platypus makes a nesting burrow from five to 20 m long in the bank of a freshwater river. There the female lays two soft-shelled eggs and incubates them. Although taking just 10 days to hatch, the young don’t emerge from the burrow for another four months.
A male platypus has a 15-mm spur on its hind legs, which secrete a poison in a territorial battle with other males or predators. It grows up to half a metre in length, and weighs just over 2 kg. It is common in south-east Australia. The best time to find this sometimes seclusive animal is at dawn and dusk in quieter freshwater habitats.
Places to see platypus: Melbourne Zoo, Healesville Sanctuary, Yarra River (upstream toward Warburton).
kookaburra
Best known for its loud, hysterical laugh at dawn and dusk, the kookaburra belongs to the kingfisher family and grows to a largish 450 mm in height. They’re quite common, even in the city, often seen sitting on powerlines staring at the ground looking for live food.
Places to see kookaburras: Melbourne Zoo, Healsville Sanctuary, Sherbrooke Forest, Braeside Park.
koala
The koala is a pouched mammal—a marsupial—and related to the kangaroo and wombat. It lives up to 20 years, spending most of its time eating and sleeping high in the forks of trees.
Weighing up to 12 kg, and with a height of 81 cm, the koala is cute, fur-covered and benign. However, it has extremely sharp claws for climbing trees in search of a select group of eucalyptus leaves to feed its strict diet. Despite being awake for only a few hours in every 24-hour period, it still manages to eat a kilogram of leaves.
The koala’s pouch is well developed, but backwards, like a wombat, and at weaning the mother passes green droppings for her young to eat, which spend up to six months in the pouch.
The koala is found in the forests of eastern Australia and can be spotted sleeping in the high forks of eucalypts. It’s mainly active during the night, when they can often be heard making grunting, pig-like sounds.
Places to see koalas: Melbourne Zoo, Healesville Sanctuary, Philip Island, French Island, Gippsland byways.
kangaroos
There are more than 50 species of kangaroo throughout Australia, ranging form the rat kangaroo (500 g) to the giant red kangaroo (up to 90 kg and 2 m tall) of outback Australia.
Feeding mainly on grasses, they live in groups, called mobs, of six to 12. Most of their day is spent resting, especially during hot summer months, and will become more active and feed in the evening.
The kangaroo has incredible strength in its hind legs, allowing it to bound at high speeds and while resting back on its long tail, give powerful kicks during a duel with other males in a battle for a territory.
It takes only 39 days for gestation, and the tiny baby “joey” makes its way into the mother’s pouch, where it can spend up to 10 months. If conditions are right, females will continually produce young, but during drought, slow their reproduction.
Besides the typical semi-arid habitat, kangaroos are found in coastal scrubland and temperate forests and grasslands right around the country. The most common species is the eastern grey, which is found quite close to suburbia.
Places to see kangaroos: Melbourne Zoo, Healesville Sanctuary, Cardinia Reservoir Park, Churchill National Park. Brisbane Ranges National Park.
wombat
Wombats grow up to 1.1 metres in length and weigh up to 32 kg. They’re solidly built, have course fur, and feed mainly on grass, roots and fungi. They spend most of the daylight hours in their burrows, which can be up to 18 metres long. Their pouch opens backwards, preventing dirt from filling the area while digging for food or making burrows. The young often stay with the mother for eight to 10 months.
Found mainly in south-eastern Australia, wombats are often seen in the evenings. They cause considerable damage to cars as they slowly cross roads, and one will often see their carcasses along country roads.
Places to see wombats: Melbourne Zoo, Healesville Sanctuary, Wilsons Promontory.
little penguin
Found along the southern coastline of Australia, the little penguin is the smallest penguin in the world—growing to only 33 cm tall and weighing just 1 kg. They’re a favourite attraction of visitors, experienced in purpose-built facilities. As their day is spent far out to sea during the non-breeding season, you can only glimpse them as they return to land in the evening.
Their burrows are built in coastal dunes, where two eggs are laid. Chicks take up to 35 days to hatch and another 60 before they’ll venture into the sea.
Places to see penguins: Melbourne Zoo, Phillip Island Penguin Parade.
Australia has the most amazing animals, which vistors must experience. The features that make them unique are inexplicable, and it is difficult to see how they might have developed through natural selection and evolution. But whether or not you acknowledge a Creator, their perplexing designs are still worth pondering.
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Articles of interest:
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This is an extract from March 2006
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