• Alex Savin
• March 15, 2022
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Wildlife of Australia

Australia is famous for many things but maybe above all for its amazing wildlife. Being a very big country, the wildlife of Australia has an extremely rich flora, and fauna, often with many species found only there. Rich nature is carefully preserved and presents a good touristic attraction.

Variety of Wildlife of Australia

Australian wildlife consists of various animals; some 83% of mammals, 89% of reptiles, 90% of fish and insects, and 93% of amphibians that inhabit the continent are endemic to Australia. It is a well-known fact that of the 1.1 million species in Australia, precisely 1.2 million are able and usually desiring to kill you. A famous Australian Song, and the current anthem of the Australian Tourism Commission, is quite appropriate for the situation — Come to Australia (You might not get Killed).

The fauna of Australia consists of a huge variety of animals; some 83% of mammals, 89% of reptiles, 90% of fish and insects, and 93% of amphibians that inhabit the continent are endemic to Australia.[2] This high level of endemism can be attributed to the continent’s long geographic isolation, tectonic stability, and the effects of an unusual pattern of climate change on the soil and flora over geological time. A unique feature of Australia’s fauna is the relative scarcity of native placental mammals. Consequently, the marsupials—a group of mammals that raise their young in a pouch, including the macropods, possums, and dasyuromorphs — occupy many of the ecological niches placental animals occupy elsewhere in the world. Australia is home to two of the five known extant species of monotremes and has numerous venomous species, including the Platypus, spiders, scorpions, octopus, jellyfish, mollusks, stonefish, and stingrays. Uniquely, Australia has more venomous than non-venomous species of snakes.

The flora of Australia comprises a vast assemblage of plant species estimated to be over 20,000 vascular and 14,000 non-vascular plants, 250,000 species of fungi, and over 3,000 lichens. The flora has strong affinities with the flora of Gondwana. Below the family, the level has a highly endemic angiosperm flora whose diversity was shaped by the effects of continental drift and climate change since the Cretaceous. Prominent features of the Australian flora are adaptations to aridity and fire, including scleromorphy and serotiny. These adaptations are common in species from the large and well-known families Proteaceae (Banksia), Myrtaceae (Eucalyptus – gum trees), and Fabaceae (Acacia – wattle).

The Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) is an Australian independent, non-profit organization working to conserve threatened wildlife and ecosystems in Australia, principally through the acquisition of extensive land areas on which to establish conservation reserves (called ‘sanctuaries’). These sanctuaries are managed for conservation and also support research programs. Funding comes from tax-deductible donations from the public and government grants for particular purposes, such as from the Australian Government’s National Reserve System Program.

Australian Symbols

Kangaroos are the largest living marsupials globally and are usually red or grey. The Australian Coat of Arms has a Kangaroo and Emu holding a shield with symbols representing the six states. Kangaroos have greatly enlarged hind legs, a strong, muscular tail, small forelegs, a relatively small head, and large ears. They usually move around with a hopping gait. The long, strong tail is used as a balance when hopping and as a prop when resting or fighting.

The koala, called a native bear by the first settlers, is not a bear but a marsupial. A series of advertisements in America run by QANTAS featuring the koala led to many Americans referring to them as “QANTAS bears”.

The koala has a large head, hairy ears fringed with white, and a large nose. It has dense, woolly, greyish-white fur. It grows up to 84 cm (33 in) long and weighs 14 kg (30 lb). Selective eaters of eucalyptus leaves and young bark, koalas are solitary or live in small harems led by a single male. The young are born after a gestation (pregnancy) period of 25 to 30 days and weigh about 5.5 g (0.2 oz) at birth. They spend approximately six months in the mother’s pouch and are weaned on predigested eucalyptus leaves. After this, the young cub takes to riding on its mother’s back. It leaves the mother at one year of age, fends for itself, and finds its tree.

The wombat is a burrowing, herbivorous, marsupial mammal. Except for the lack of a tail, the wombat is remarkably beaver-like in appearance. They are greyish brown, thick-bodied animals ranging from 70 to 120 cm (27-47 in) and weighing up to 27 kg (60 lb). There are three existing species of wombat, common, hairy-nosed and Tasmanian, found only in Australia. They are believed to have evolved from the same basic possum-like marsupial stock that gave rise to the koala, but they have become specialized for a ground-dwelling, burrowing existence. Wombats prefer dense forests and eucalypt woodland, but they sometimes occur in coastal heath and scrubland.

“An Aboriginal legend tells us that Agoodenout, the keeper of the sun’s fire, sent the kookaburra to awaken man and all the bushland creatures to the glories of a new day. For centuries between the origin of this legend and the present, Australians have been listening to the laughter of the kookaburra and still have not found a better explanation for it. A journey through folklore shows us that in this legend, men have always had a somewhat personal relationship with the kookaburra. The bird may laugh along with man in a merry mood, or it may laugh mockingly at man’s folly. Some say it laughs to warn a man of forthcoming rain or even danger. Only recently, it was suggested that the kookaburra can afford to have a mirthful chuckle at us, for despite centuries of folklore, his intimate secrets have been known only to him.”

The flightless emu is widespread over Australia’s open country. Except for the ostrich, the adult emu, the largest bird, stands about 1.5 m (5 ft) high and weighs about 55 kg (120 lb). Emus run at speeds of up to 50 km/h (30 mph), defend themselves by kicking, and swim well. The hairlike plumage of both sexes is brownish gray. The slightly smaller male incubates a clutch of 8 to 10 dark green eggs for about 60 days, each egg weighing about 0.7 kg (1.5 lb).

Discovery of the Сontinent of Australia

When first sent to England, the duck-billed, web-footed Platypus looked so strange to the scientists in London’s British Museum that they thought it was a “fake”. They felt that parts of other animals had put it together to fool them. They tried to prise off the animal’s bill, and today you can still see the marks on the Platypus at the Museum of Natural History in London. The Platypus is one of two egg-laying mammals to be found in the world today, and the other is the echidna. Both belong to a group called monotremes. They lay eggs with soft leathery shells, similar to those of reptiles.

The echidna is the only native Australian mammal found throughout the continent, including Tasmania. It seems equally at home in all environments, from above the winter snow line in the Snowy Mountains to northern tropical woodlands and the harshest deserts of the interior. A highly specialized feeder relies almost entirely on ants and termites for food. It lacks teeth.

The Galah’s distribution stretches almost entirely across the Australian continent, though it avoids the extremes of the very harshest deserts and dense forests. Instead, it favors open plains and savanna woodland. Formerly it was largely absent from the eastern seaboard but in recent decades has become much more common in several east coastal towns and cities, including several in Tasmania. The diet consists mainly of fallen seeds of various native plants, occasionally supplemented by insects. Still, it also feeds on cereal crops such as wheat and oats, especially spilled grain near storage silos and along country roads. [5]

Save the Wildlife of Australia

The richness of Australian wildlife cannot be forgotten by anybody who has the chance to see it and, in a way, experience it. Such a wide range of animals presents a paradise for both animal lovers and experts. We mustn’t forget their preservation.