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Australian Animals
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Animals_Document 23/09/14 Page 1
Class: 7CAR
Teacher: Ms Gregerson
Due Date: 13/10/14

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Contents
What is a koala? ............................................................................................................................... 4
Red Kangaroo ................................................................................................................................ 65
Platypus ........................................................................................................................................... 6
References ....................................................................................................................................... 7

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

Habitat
'Habitat' refers to the types of bushland 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.

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
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The main characteristics 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
1) agriculture
2) housing
3) mining
4) forestry
5) factories
6) 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 easy to see
that the biggest threat to the Koala population is the human.

BUSHFIRES
Koala populations in fragmented areas of bushland are at great risk of localised 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.

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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

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

Description
Platypus 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.

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Diet
Platypus eat a variety of invertebrates such as crustaceans and molluscs. 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 behaviourbehavior.

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

References

Authors name:
Title of the work: The Koala Foundation
Title of the complete work: Dieback and threats
Address: http://www.savethekoala.com/
Date of visit: 19/02/02

Authors name: n.d;
Title of the work: Kangaroo
Title of the complete work: Wires
Address: http://www.wires.au.com/animals/kangaroo.htm

Authors name: n.d;
Title of the work: Emu
Title of the complete work: Wires
Address: http://www.wires.au.com/animals/emu.htm

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