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Wombat
| Kangaroo
| Platypus
| Redback
| Kookaburra
| Koala
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Australia
| Bourke
Wombats
originate from Australia. They are found all over Australia,
including New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania and the
Northern Territory. They are nocturnal animals, they dig a
deep burrow and sleep by day and eat at night. The wombat has
soft, silky, fine hair. A wombats nose is called a snout.
They are large marsupials with thick necks, powerful legs,
and strong claws. In the Dreamtime they were believed to be
the size of a donkey. Scientists found fossils to prove this
theory. Wombats mate
once a year between May and June. The wombat gives birth to
poorly developed young without any hair. It lives in the
mothers pouch for 6 to 8 months. The pouch opens backwards
so it doesn't get filled with dirt. The wombat is a complete
adult by the time it is three years old. The wombat
eats food by night. The food includes grass and small
shrubs. They are hervivores. They drink milk when they are
young and water after twelve months.
Wombat
Koala
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Kangaroos
usually feed late in the day and early in the morning. They
eat flowers, grass and fruit. They drink fresh clean water.
A kangaroo has
large ears and eyes and a long nose. Their front arms are
small and they have paws with five sharp claws. Their feet
are very long and their legs are very strong. Their tails
are very long and heavy. The Red Kangaroo mainly lives on
the grassy plains in Australia. When the baby
kangaroo is born it can't see and it's back legs have not
grown yet. A baby kangaroo is called a joey. When it is 5
months old it can put its head out and look around. When the
joey is 6 months old, they get out of the pouch and can hop
around for the first time. (See Picture)
Kangaroo
Koala
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A playtus has
a streamlined body and has webbed feet and tail to help them
swim. They are excellent swimmers. They can stay under the
water for several minutes at a time. Their rubbery bill can
bend when he moves the mud looking for food. They eat
worms, insects, shellfish and small crustaceans. When the
platypus goes under water they close their eyes and flaps of
skin go over its ears when they swimming. They only use
their front feet to swim. The male platypus' have a
poisonous spur on inside of their hind foot, the platypus
uses this for protection if attacked. Dawn and dusk are the
most active times for the platypus. They spend most of their
time in a burrow on dry ground. For breeding
they built a special tunnel at least 15 metres away from the
river bank. The female lays two or three eggs at a time.
Platypus eggs hatch in ten days and the mother then feeds
the young for four months. The Aboriginal Dreamtime stories
tells how the platypus was the result of a marriage between
a duck and a water rat.
Platypus
Koala
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The
Red Back Spider is found in most parts of Australia. They
eat bugs, beetles, insects and other small
spiders. A male and female The real name
for the Red Back Spider is Latrodectus Hasselti. It is
related to the Black Widow Spider, New Zealands' Katipo
Spider and the Night Stinger. Redback spider webs are very
sticky. The female Red
Back Spider is much more dangerous than the male. The female
has the red markings on her back. The male Red Back Spider
is not very dangerous, it has white and brown markings on
its back. The male spider is approximately 13mm long and the
female grows to 14mm long. The spiders eggs are an off white
colour and usually come in a group of 50-200 egs.
Redback Spider
Redback Spider 
Koala
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The kookaburra has a large head. It has a long, heavy bill and brown, black and white feathers. Kookaburras live in woodland in Australia and New Guinea. The call of the Kookaburra sounds like a laugh, it is sometimes known in Australia as the 'Laughing Bird'. The kookaburra is about 43 centimetres high. They like to eat caterpillars, fish, frogs, insects, small mammals, snakes, worms and even small birds.
Koala | Australia | Top of Page |
Kookaburras like to live in tree holes. The male kookaburras defend their homes. Some of the kookaburras that are alive today are 'Laughing Kookaburra' and 'Blue Winged Kookaburra'.
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Koalas are only common in some parts of Australia. The Koalas average weight is 11kg but male adults can weigh up to 13 kilograms.  |
KoalaThe koala is one of the most popular and best known animals in Australia. The koala does not drink water. The name koala actually comes from an Aboriginal word meaning 'no drink'. The koala eats only leaves of a certain species ie. Smooth Barked Eucalypts. When the mother gives birth the baby is hardly developed. It has pink skin and is only the size of a pea.The baby koala lives in the mother's pouch for 6 months and then gets carried around on the mother's back for another 6 months.
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