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Koala
The koala
spends most of its life asleep! When it is awake, it eats
the juicy leaves of the Eucalyptus tree. The name koala
is an aboriginal word meaning 'no drink' as they rarely leave
the tree tops to come down
and have water. They have thick grey fur which helps them
to blend in with the
bark
of
the gum
trees. Koalas are marsupials and have a pouch like kangaroos,
once the joey is old enough they ride on their
mothers back and will stay with their mother until they are about
one year old. |
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Dingo
The dingo
is Australia's wild dog, they have lived in Australia for thousands
of years but some say they were introduced from
the islands of Indonesia long ago and are not truly an Australian
native animal. Like all dogs they eat meat and prefer to live
in packs. They dont' bark as much as
domestic dogs, instead they more commonly howl like wolves. Dingoes
can be different colours, the dingoes of the outback are usually
a light tan colour while rainforest dingoes
can be quite dark and almost black. |
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Kangaroos and Wallabies
Kangaroos
and wallabies are both members of the macropod family. Their
babies are called joeys and they live in their mothers pouch
until they are quite large. Both wallabies and kangaroos
have strong tails and large feet. They jump from
place
to place eating
grasses and other vegetation. They live in large family groups
known as 'mobs'. |
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Bats
There are
several different species of bats in the Tropical North region.
The fruit bats or 'flying foxes' are commonly seen
at dusk screeching and flying out to feast on fruit. Insect bats
leave a little later, once its completely dark, making more
of a squeaking sound as they use echolocation to help them
hunt for moths, crickets and other
insects of the night. |
