Computer Applications

Australian Animals
Computer Applications

Name: Grace Gee
Class: 7CAR
Teacher: Ms. Gregerson
Due Date: 13

October 2014
Date Submitted: 13 October 2014
Grace Gee 7CAR

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Grace Gee 7CAR

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Contents
KOALA ........................................................................................................................................... 4
RED KANGAROO ......................................................................................................................... 7
PLATYPUS ..................................................................................................................................... 8
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................ 9






Grace Gee 7CAR

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KOALA
The koala is a small bear-like, tree-dwelling, herbivorous marsupial which
averages about 9kg (20lb) in weight. Its fur is thick and usually ash grey
with a tinge of brown in places.








Habitat
'Habitat' refers to the types of bush land that koalas like to live in. They are found in a range of habitats,
from coastal islands and tall eucalypt forests to low woodlands inland.
Koalas today are found in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. Their range
extends from the Atherton Tableland west of Cairns in Qld to islands off the coast of Victoria and South
Australia in the south, and west to central and western Qld, NSW and Victoria.

Diet
Koala's are very fussy eaters and have strong preferences for
different types of gum leaves, then the most important factor
which make habitats suitable are the presence of tree species
preferred by koalas (usually eucalypts, but also some non-
eucalypts) growing in particular associations on suitable soils
with adequate rainfall.
In Australia there are over 600 types of eucalypts, but koalas will
not eat a large proportion of these. Within a particular area, as
few as one, and generally no more than two or three species of
eucalypt will be regularly browsed while a variety of other
species, including some non-eucalypts, appear to be browsed occasionally or used for just sitting or
sleeping in.
Different species of eucalypts grow in different parts of Australia, so a koala in Victoria would have a very
different diet from one in Queensland. Koalas like a change, too, and sometimes they will eat from other
trees such as wattle or tea tree.








Image of Eucalyptus Tree
Image of a Koala
Grace Gee 7CAR

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Physiology
The Koala is well suited to life in the trees. The koala has an excellent sense of balance and its body is
lean and muscular and its quite long, strong limbs support its weight when climbing. The arms and legs
are nearly equal in length and the koala's climbing strength comes from the thigh muscle joining the shin
much lower than in other animals. Its paws are especially adapted for gripping and climbing with rough
pads on the palms and soles helping it to grip tree trunks and branches. Koalas have a thick woolly fur
which protects them from both high and low temperatures. It also acts like a 'raincoat' to repel moisture
when it rains. Koalas are mostly nocturnal animals and they are most active during the night and at dawn
and dusk.

Breeding
The main characteristic of marsupials which differentiate
them from other mammals is that they give birth to
immature young which then develop further in a pouch. The
word 'marsupial' comes from the Latin word marsupium,
meaning 'pouch.' Most, but not all marsupials have a pouch
in which to raise their young.
The breeding season for koalas runs roughly from September
to March. This is a time of increased activity, and sound
levels increase as males bellow more frequently. This is also
when the young from the previous year are weaning from their mothers.

Threats
Since European settlement, approximately 80% of Australia's eucalypt forests have been decimated. Of
the remaining 20% almost none is protected and most occurs on privately-owned land.
The main causes of loss of habitat include:
LAND CLEARING
Clearing of the land for expansion of human settlement for
agriculture
housing
mining
forestry
factories
roads
The results of this would include:
Loss of habitat
Increased disturbance by humans
Injury or death from traffic
Injury or death from dogs and cats
Effects of garden pesticides getting into waterways
Increased competition for food and territory because of overcrowding
Increased stress on animals, making them more susceptible to disease.

It has also been documented that over 4000 koalas are killed each year by dogs and cars. It is easy to see
that the biggest threat to the Koala population is the human.


An image of land clearing (deforestation)
Grace Gee 7CAR

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Bushfires
Koala populations in fragmented areas of bush land are at great risk of localized extinction from a single
fire which may wipe out an entire habitat. Bushfires are extremely common in the summer months.









Dieback
Changes in the balance of the ecosystem can lead to dieback of trees. The cutting back of the original
vast forests has created patches of forest separated from each other by treeless land. Small, isolated
patches of forest are prone to dieback. Dieback is a general term for the gradual dying of trees due to
factors such as land degradation, leaching of soil nutrients, changes in the composition of vegetation
communities, rising water levels underground, salination of the soil, erosion caused by wind and water,
exposure to weather and excessive defoliation (or loss of leaves).
The underlying cause of all these factors appears to be the clearing and disturbance of forests. Seventy
five percent of the main koala food tree species are declining in numbers as a result of this.
















Images of Dieback free and Dieback infested
Grace Gee 7CAR

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RED KANGAROO
(Macropus rufus)
Status: Common
The red kangaroo is the largest of all the
marsupials and live in family groups on the plains
and deserts of Central Australia.
Description Male red kangaroos have short dense
woolly fur and are pale to brick red in colour, while
the females are blue-grey, though in some areas
both sexes are red. Both have distinctive white
below. The muzzle is dusky, naked and sharply
defined with a distinctive black and white patch on
each side. Red kangaroos travel with head down.
Males weigh up to 90kg; the females are smaller at
35kg (also known as the "Blue-fliers"). Males can
stand over 1.8m tall.

Breeding
Kangaroos breed throughout the year. Newly born young, known as joeys, weigh less than 1 gram and
make their way into the pouch unassisted by their mother.

Diet
Green herbage, including grasses and herbivorous plants.

Habitat
Red kangaroos are found in central Australia and
prefer open plains with scattered shade trees under
which they rest during the day. They are semi-
nomadic preferring to graze mostly at night but can
extend to late evening and early morning














The habitat of the Kangaroo
An image of a Red Kangaroo
Grace Gee 7CAR

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PLATYPUS
(Ornithorhyncus anatinus)
Status: Platypi are common but vulnerable.
The platypus is a monotreme, like the echidna but is
extremely specialized for an aquatic lifestyle in fresh water.
For many years, platypi were hunted for their thick fur. Platypi
are mostly nocturnal and solitary animals.




Description
Platypi have a broad soft leathery bill, dense water-repellent brown fur, webbed feet and clawed toes. It
uses its webbed front feet for swimming, folding the web under its paw to walk. The Platypus spends
much of its time in the water so its eyes are on the top of its head and the nostrils open on top of its bill.
When submerged, the platypus closes its eyes, nostrils and ear holes relying on the touch receptors on
the skin of the bill for its information.
The platypus's tail is broad and flat, its hind feet are used to help steer and brake while swimming the
hind ankles of the male have a venomous spur.

Breeding
Mating starts on August in the warmer areas and as late as October in Tasmania. Females lay two eggs
and incubate the eggs by curling her body around them as she lies on a nest of grasses at the end of the
burrow. Eggs hatch in about 2 weeks and young are fed for four to five months on milk that secretes
from pore ducts of the mammary glands on the mothers abdomen.

Diet
Platypi eat a variety of invertebrates such as crustaceans and mollusks. They collect food from the river
bottom and store it in cheek pouches until the reaching the surface. The platypus then floats on its back
chewing the food between horny grinding plates in its mouth.

Habitat
The platypus lives in burrows on the banks of fresh water streams and lakes
of Eastern Australia including Tasmania. It sleeps most of the day in its
burrow feeding mainly around dawn and dusk. Local climate may change this
behavior.

Threats
WIRES (Wildlife Information and Rescue Service) looks after platypus which are sick, orphaned or injured
due to lacerations from outboard motors, poisoning from pollution, entanglement from netting and
habitat loss.





Habitat of the Platypus
An image of a Platypus swimming in a river (habitat)
Grace Gee 7CAR

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REFERENCES

Using The Koala Foundation, viewed 23 September 2014 by Gee, G.
Author/Publisher: Unknown
Address: http://www.savethekoala.com/

Using Wikipedia, viewed 23 September 2014 by Gee, G.
Author/Publisher: Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger
Address: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koala

Using Wires, viewed 23 September 2014 by Gee, G.
Author/Publisher: Unknown
Address: http://www.wires.au.com/animals/kangaroo.htm

Using Wires, viewed 23 September 2014 by Gee, G.
Author/Publisher: Unknown
Address: http://www.wires.au.com/animals/emu.htm


Using Australia Zoo, viewed 2 October 2014 by Gee, G.
Author/Publisher: Australia Zoo Coordinators
Address: http://www.australiazoo.com.au


Using Wildscreen Arkive, viewed 2 October 2014 by Gee, G.
Author/Publisher: Unknown
Address: http://www.arkive.org/eastern-grey-kangaroo/macropus-giganteus/


Using PicPicx, viewed 13 October 2014 by Gee, G.
Author/Publisher: Unknown
Address: http://www.picpicx.com/platypus/