What special adaptations does the parma wallaby have that helps it survive in its habitat?

Answer 1

• Parma wallabies are very small, and therefore quite defenceless; to compensate, they shelter under cover during the day, hiding in the thick, shrubby understorey of the bushland where they live.
• Unlike many kangaroo species, the Parma wallaby is found at elevations up to 300 metres (1000 ft). Human interference and activities have pushed them out of coastal areas, but they can survive well at higher elevations where there is less human interaction.
• Although the Parma wallaby gives birth to just one joey at a time, she is fertile again within a few days of giving birth. Because of embryonic diapause - the ability to suspend the development of they joey in the womb whilst one joey is still in the pouch - the female can be almost constantly pregnant, ensuring a better chance of survival of the species.
• The mother can also produce two different types of milk to suit the needs of two different aged joeys. She might have a more mature joey that spends less time in the pouch, while a very young embryo has attached itself to a teat. Each joey has different milk requirements - which the mother is able to supply.
• Wallabies are particularly agile, more able to hop up and down slopes than their larger relatives, the Red and Grey kangaroos. Wallabies have large, strong tendons in their hind legs which act as "springs", and they hide in bushland where they can quickly and easily escape from potential predators, dodging back and forth between trees and up and down slopes.
• Wallabies' hind legs move independently of each other, and they have long, strong tails for balancing.
• Wallabies have the ability to hear very well: they can twitch their ears independently around to determine the direction of specific sounds, much as a cat does.