Australian Animals

Introduction to Computing.
Name: Amolika Iyengar Class: 7CAY Teacher: Miss Agnew Due Date: 17/10/ 00!

Amolika Iyengar 7CAY

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Contents
Con en !...............................................................................................................................3 "oala....................................................................................................................................4 #a$i a ..............................................................................................................................4 %ie ...................................................................................................................................4 &reeding ..........................................................................................................................4 '(rea ! .............................................................................................................................5 )A*% C)+A,I*-.....................................................................................................5 &./#0I,+/................................................................................................................5 %I+&AC"....................................................................................................................5 ,ed "angaroo......................................................................................................................7 &reeding...........................................................................................................................7 %ie ...................................................................................................................................7 #a$i a ..............................................................................................................................7 Pla y12!................................................................................................................................3 %e!cri1 ion.......................................................................................................................3 &reeding...........................................................................................................................3 %ie ...................................................................................................................................3 #a$i a ..............................................................................................................................3 ,eference!...........................................................................................................................9

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Koala
What is a koala? The koala is a small bear-like, tree-dwelling, herbivorous marsupial which averages about 9kg (20lb) in weight !ts "ur is thick and usuall# ash gre# with a tinge o" brown in places

Habitat
$%abitat$ re"ers to the t#pes o" bush land that koalas like to live in The# are "ound in a range o" habitats, "rom coastal islands and tall eucal#pt "orests to low woodlands inland &oalas toda# are "ound in 'ueensland, (ew )outh Wales, *ictoria and )outh +ustralia Their range e,tends "rom the +therton Tableland west o" -airns in 'ld to islands o"" the coast o" *ictoria and )outh +ustralia in the south, and west to central and western 'ld, ()W and *ictoria

Diet
&oala$s are ver# "uss# eaters and have strong pre"erences "or di""erent t#pes o" gum leaves, then the most important "actor which make habitats suitable are the presence o" tree species pre"erred b# koalas (usuall# eucal#pts, but also some non-eucal#pts) growing in particular associations on suitable soils with ade.uate rain"all !n +ustralia there are over /00 t#pes o" eucal#pts, but koalas will not eat a large proportion o" these Within a particular area, as "ew as one, and generall# no more than two or three species o" eucal#pt will be regularl# browsed while a variet# o" other species, including some non-eucal#pts, appear to be browsed occasionall# or used "or 0ust sitting or sleeping in 1i""erent species o" eucal#pts grow in di""erent parts o" +ustralia, so a koala in *ictoria would have a ver# di""erent diet "rom one in 'ueensland &oalas like a change, too, and sometimes the# will eat "rom other trees such as wattle or tea tree 2h#siolog# The &oala is well suited to li"e in the trees The koala has an e,cellent sense o" balance and its bod# is lean and muscular and its .uite long, strong limbs support its weight when climbing The arms and legs are nearl# e.ual in length and the koala$s climbing strength comes "rom the thigh muscle 0oining the shin much lower than in other animals !ts paws are especiall# adapted "or gripping and climbing with rough pads on the palms and soles helping it to grip tree trunks and branches &oalas have a thick wooll# "ur which protects them "rom both high and low temperatures !t also acts like a $raincoat$ to repel moisture when it rains &oalas are mostl# nocturnal animals and the# are most active during the night and at dawn and dusk

Breeding
The main characteristics o" marsupials which di""erentiate them "rom other mammals is that the# give birth to immature #oung which then develop "urther in a pouch The word

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$marsupial$ comes "rom the 3atin word marsupial, meaning $pouch $ 4ost, but not all marsupials have a pouch in which to raise their #oung The breeding season "or koalas runs roughl# "rom )eptember to 4arch This is a time o" increased activit#, and sound levels increase as males bellow more "re.uentl# This is also when the #oung "rom the previous #ear are weaning "rom their mothers

Threats
)ince 5uropean settlement, appro,imatel# 607 o" +ustralia$s eucal#pt "orests have been decimated 8" the remaining 207 almost none is protected and most occurs on privatel#-owned land The main causes o" loss o" habitat include9

LAND CLEARING
-learing o" the land "or e,pansion o" human settlement "or +griculture %ousing 4ining :orestr# :actories ;oads The results o" this would include9 3oss o" habitat !ncreased disturbance b# humans !n0ur# or death "rom tra""ic !n0ur# or death "rom dogs and cats 5""ects o" garden pesticides getting into waterwa#s !ncreased competition "or "ood and territor# because o" overcrowding !ncreased stress on animals, making them more susceptible to disease !t has also been documented that over <000 koalas are killed each #ear b# dogs and cars !t=s eas# to see that the biggest threat to the &oala population is the human

BUSHFIRES
&oala populations in "ragmented areas o" bush land are at great risk o" locali>ed e,tinction "rom a single "ire which ma# wipe out an entire habitat ?ush"ires are e,tremel# common in the )ummer months

DIEBACK
-hanges in the balance o" the ecos#stem can lead to dieback o" trees The cutting back o" the original vast "orests has created patches o" "orest separated "rom each other b#

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treeless land )mall, isolated patches o" "orest are prone to dieback 1ieback is a general term "or the gradual d#ing o" trees due to "actors such as land degradation, leaching o" soil nutrients, changes in the composition o" vegetation communities, rising water levels underground, salivation o" the soil, erosion caused b# wind and water, e,posure to weather and e,cessive de"oliation (or loss o" leaves) The underl#ing cause o" all these "actors appears to be the clearing and disturbance o" "orests )event# "ive percent o" the main koala "ood tree species are declining in numbers as a result o" this

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Red Kangaroo
4acropus ;u"us )tatus9 -ommon The red kangaroo is the largest o" all the marsupials and live in "amil# groups on the plains and deserts o" -entral +ustralia 1escription 4ale red kangaroos have short dense wooll# "ur and are pale to brick red in colour, while the "emales are blue-gre#, though in some areas both se,es are red ?oth have distinctive white below The mu>>le is dusk#, naked and sharpl# de"ined with a distinctive black and white patch on each side ;ed kangaroos travel with head down 4ales weigh up to 90kg, the "emales are smaller at @Akg (also known as the B?lue"liersB) 4ales can stand over C 6m tall

Breeding
&angaroos breed throughout the #ear (ewl# born #oung, known as 0oe#s, weigh less than C gram and make their wa# into the pouch unassisted b# their mother

Diet
Dreen herbage, including grasses and herbivorous plants

Habitat
;ed kangaroos are "ound in central +ustralia and pre"er open plains with scattered shade trees under which the# rest during the da# The# are semi-nomadic pre"erring to gra>e mostl# at night but can e,tend to late evening and earl# morning

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Platypus
8rnithorh#ncus +natinus )tatus9 2lat#pus are common but vulnerable The plat#pus is a monotreme, like the echidna but are e,tremel# speciali>ed "or an a.uatic li"est#le in "resh water :or man# #ears, plat#pus were hunted "or their thick "ur 2lat#pus are mostl# nocturnal and solitar# animals

Description
2lat#pus have a broad so"t leather# bill, dense water-repellent brown "ur, webbed "eet and clawed toes !t uses its webbed "ront "eet "or swimming, "olding the web under its paw to walk The 2lat#pus spends much o" its time in the water so its e#es are on the top o" its head and the nostrils open on top o" its bill When submerged, the plat#pus closes its e#es, nostrils and ear holes rel#ing on the touch receptors on the skin o" the bill "or its in"ormation The plat#pus$s tail is broad and "lat, its hind "eet are used to help steer and brake while swimming the hind ankles o" the male have a venomous spur

Breeding
4ating starts on +ugust in the warmer areas and as late as 8ctober in Tasmania :emales la# two eggs and incubate the eggs b# curling her bod# around them as she lies on a nest o" grasses at the end o" the burrow 5ggs hatch in about 2 weeks and #oung are "ed "or "our to "ive months on milk that secretes "rom pore ducts o" the mammar# glands on the mothers abdomen

Diet
2lat#pus eat a variet# o" invertebrates such as crustaceans and molluscs The# collect "ood "rom the river bottom and store it in cheek pouches until the reaching the sur"ace The plat#pus then "loats on its back chewing the "ood between horn# grinding plates in its mouth

Habitat
The plat#pus lives in burrows on the banks o" "resh water streams and lakes o" 5astern +ustralia including Tasmania !t sleeps most o" the da# in its burrow "eeding mainl# around dawn and dusk 3ocal climate ma# change this behavior Threats W!;5) looks a"ter plat#pus which are sick, orphaned or in0ured due to lacerations "rom outboard motors, poisoning "rom pollution, entanglement "rom netting and habitat loss

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Referen es
E5mu=, n d , Wires, viewed 2C :ebruar# 2002 http9FFwww wires au comFanimalsFemu htm E&angaroo=, n d , Wires, viewed 2C :ebruar# 2002 http9FFwww wires au comFanimalsFkangaroo htm EThe &oala :oundation=, n d , Koalas, viewed C9 :ebruar# 2002 http9FFwww savethekoala comF

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