The animals of Australia are not just peculiar, they are really unique. According to scientists, almost 400 species of mammals, more than 800 species of birds, 300 species of lizards, 140 species of snakes, 50 types of marine mammals and two species of crocodiles live on the continent. Most of Australia’s animals are not often seen in the wild.
Animals of Australia are cautious and timid, but in the territory of national parks they live at ease and in the usual conditions.
Australia differs from the rest of the world in that it is home to amazing animals that you will not find anywhere else on the planet. Australia’s rather great remoteness, its geographical and climatic features created special conditions for living and living a large number of animals that are not similar to the inhabitants of other continents.
Since the settlement of Australia, the Europeans who got there, in addition to creating conditions for life, building cities and creating livestock farms, were actively engaged in hunting. For many years, people did not think about animals, they hunted and exterminated each at their discretion, so many of them just started to disappear. To stop and preserve these amazing animals, the Australian government began to create reserves and national parks in which animals were given the opportunity to live as well as in the wild, but ensuring their safety.
There are a lot of such parks. Of these, the Taronga Zoo in Sydney, the tropical park in Port Douglas, the Hisville Wildlife Sanctuary in Victoria, the Australian Zoo in Queensland, and the Cleland Wildlife Sanctuary in South Australia are worth mentioning. Describing all the animals of Australia is certainly not possible, for this you will need a whole volume, but some of the most interesting, we want to introduce you.
The peculiarity of the animal world of Australia is that there are few predators and therefore many animals even small in size can easily breed here. The largest predator is the wild dog Dingo. It is sometimes said that she was specially introduced to this territory, but this is a myth. It has already been scientifically proven that she has lived in Australia for several thousand years, that is, long before the advent of European civilization.
Dingo dogs bring quite tangible damage to farmers. And although almost all farm land is fenced, it helps little and therefore they are often shot. This is a very unpleasant picture, but such is the reality. They feel at ease only in nature reserves. But these are very masterful animals, they do not want to live locked up and therefore often find trouble for themselves.
Once upon a time there was another predator marsupial wolf in Australia, but over time it was replaced by the Dingo Dog. And people didn’t really like this rather voracious beast, which encroached on domestic animals of which the first colonists bred with great difficulty. At the beginning of the twentieth century they were completely exterminated, only his black and white photo remained.
Most of Australia’s wild animals are so-called marsupials. A peculiar feature of the cultivation of their offspring makes it possible for these animals to extend their population in the rather difficult conditions of this Green Continent.
The most famous and largest marsupial is of course the kangaroo, which is a symbol of Australia. There are several types of them. Of these, the most famous is a large red kangaroo that lives in lowland places.
Gray forest kangaroo living in the forest. It is smaller than red, but it is also a large animal.
Vallaru, or mountain kangaroo who prefers to live in mountainous areas.
Wallaby, a special tree species of kangaroo living on trees.
And the setonics, the so-called Quokka. A very interesting animal lives in Australia, this koala is a marsupial bear. These very funny bears live in eucalyptus forests. They spend all their time on trees. This is for them both the home and the kitchen. During the day, they sleep more, sitting on branches, and at night they mostly eat. And they only eat eucalyptus leaves. They don’t even need water, there is enough moisture in the leaves to remove thirst. In appearance, these are very slow animals, but if they are in danger, they can show enough agility, so not every animal can catch them on a tree. Interestingly, the leaves of some eucalyptus species contain a fairly strong poison. But this doesn’t bother the koala. Either they have an antidote to this, or they can somehow distinguish between poisonous leaves and edible ones.
The closest relative of the koala is the wombat. He is distinguished by his stout physique, reaching a length of up to one meter and a weight of 36 kilograms. Outwardly, he is somewhat similar to a well-fed piglet, the same round and short-legged, but covered with thick long fur. This is a herbivore that feeds on what it can reach. But even the grass is eaten at the root. Wombats live in holes, they try not to come across a person’s eyes.
