0
Australia Animal Life
Australia wildlife is much more than kangaroos, koalas and dingos. Ask questions here about the animals that call Australia home.
403 Questions
What omnivores live in Australia?
Some of Australia's native omnivores are:
- Emu
- Bilby
- Musky Rat-kangaroo
- Bandicoot
- Cuscus
- Burrowing bettong
What is a native animal for Australia?
No Australian animal retains its aboriginal name in the true form, but below are some derivations from the original Aboriginal dialects.
- kangaroo (ganguru)
- koala (gwala)
- wombat (wambad)
- kookaburra (gugubarra)
- wallaby (walaba)
- wallaroo (walaru)
- budgerigar (betcherrigah, gijirrigaa)
- galah
- currawong
Incidentally, many believe "emu" and "bandicoot" to be aboriginal names for native animals, but they are not.
What is the Australian bird emblem?
There is no national Australian bird emblem. Australia has neither a bird emblem nor a mammal emblem - just a floral emblem, which is the Golden wattle. Some may believe the emu is the Australian bird emblem, but it is not.
How many dangerous animals live in australia?
Australia has many dangerous animals.
Although there are no large and dangerous land mammals such as pumas, mountain lions or wolves, the continent has one of the few venomous mammals in the world - the male platypus, which has a venomous spur on its hind ankles, capable of injecting a powerful and agonising venom.
There are also dozens of venomous snakes, such as the Brown snake, Copperhead and Taipan, just to name a few. Introduced animals such as wild pigs and wild dogs can be very dangerous to encounter in the outback.
In addition, Australia's marine waters hold some of its deadliest creatures. The five most dangerous creatures in Australia are:
1. The Box Jellyfish
2. Irukandji (A Jellyfish)
3. Salt Water Crocodile
4. Blue Ring Octopus
5. Stone Fish
What are some water animals that live in Australia?
Some Australian sea animals are:
- Dugong
- Longman's beaked whale
- Southern Bottlenose whale
- Amoux's beaked whale
- Gray's beaked whale
- Goose-beaked whale
- Shepherd's beaked whale
- Pygmy whale
- Dwarf minke whale
- Humpback whale
- Southern right whale
- Bottlenose dolphin
- Killer whale
- Spinner dolphin
- Short-beaked common dolphin
- Leafy Sea-agon
- Weedy sea-dragon
- Australian snub fin dolphin
- Weddell seal
- Ross seal
- Australian sea-lion
- Leopard seal
- Australian fur-seal
- New Zealand fur-seal
Where does Australia export live animals to?
Australia exports live sheep, cattle and goats to a great variety of locations, such as countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific. More information can be found at the related link below.
What are 5 Australian animals that might be extinct in the next 30 years?
The Australian Government has put out a list of endangered Australian fauna. Follow the related link below (EPBC Act List of Threatened Fauna) for a comprehensive list.
This furry animal has kept its australian name?
There are a number of Australian mammals which have kept derivations of their original aboriginal name, but none have kept the name in its original form.
These animals include the kangaroo, koala, numbat, wallaby, wombat, ningaui and potoroo.
What animal is in the similar species as a Tasmanian devil?
Terrible! From about 1996, the Tasmanian Devil has been threatened by a fatal form of cancer called "Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD)" which has killed more than 90% of adults in high density areas and 45% of adults in medium to low density areas resulting in an "Endangered" classification. Since then, the Threatened Species Scientific Advisory Committee has recommended moving the Tasmanian Devil up the "Endangered Species" list. A number of groups have combined to fund, study, analyse and come up with a cure for DFTD. You can find out more about it or assist by going to the attached Web Page and selecting one of the options.
What are the predators in Australia?
Native predators in Australia include dasyurids (carnivorous marsupials) such as the Tasmanian devil and the quoll. There are many smaller dasyurids which prey on lizards, insects and (rarely) other small mammals, and these predators include the phascogale, kowari, dunnart, antechinus and the planigale.
There are native birds of prey such as the wedge-tailed eagle, and various members of the Australian hawk family, buzzards, kites, owls, goshawks and falcons. Kingfishers and kookaburras are also birds of prey.
Among the reptiles, all snakes are predators, as are goannas (large monitor lizards) and other carnivorous lizards.
There are many introduced predators in Australia, such as the dingo, which is sometimes considered native because it has been in Australia for so long. Cats, dogs, foxes and feral pigs are all introduced predators.
Who brought merinos to Australia?
The first sheep came with the First Fleet in 1788, but these were not merinos.
The Father of Australia's merino sheep industry is John Macarthur. He was a man with a great deal of influence in colonial Australia, and it was he who arranged for the first Merino sheep to be brought to Australia from Spain. The first Spanish Merino sheep were brought to Australia in 1796. This type of Merino was a tough sheep which could handle Australia's extreme conditions. There had been little initial success with grain growing - a situation that was rectified as the colony grew - but sheep were an excellent mainstay, easy to maintain and profitable for both domestic and overseas markets.
What Australian animal kills the most people?
The Box Jellyfish (also known as the sea wasp).. Each tentacle has enough venom to kill 60 humans!
They are responsible for killing more Australian's than Sharks & Crocodiles..
Anyone who has ever encountered one of these creatures stings will know just how painful they are..
It's been said that it would be a lot less painful to just cut off the arm/leg that has been stung..
Children don't cry when they are stung.. they scream!
P.S.. Think twice b4 swimming in the Great Barrier Reef! ;)
Australia's largest flying bird is the Australian pelican. With a wingspan that can exceed 3 metres, a height of up to 180cm and a weight of up to 13 kg, the Australian pelican is very clearly the largest flying bird in Australia. However, it is not unique to Australia, being found across the Pacific region known as Australasia. Beside Australia, it is found in Papua New Guinea and western Indonesia, and even in New Zealand and some western Pacific islands.
Two other birds are more localised within Australia, and could be regarded as Australia's largest flying birds, though they cannot match the pelican in height, wingspan or weight.
- Australian bustard: it can grow up to 120cm in height, and its weight averages 450 grams. It is unique to northern Australia and the southern region of New Guinea.
- Jabiru, or Black-necked stork: its size is larger than the Australian bustard, growing up to a maximum of 133cm, but it is lighter, having an average weight of 410 grams. It is found only in Australia, so could conceivably be classed as Australia's largest endemic flying bird.
What nocturnal animals are native to Australia?
Most of Australia's native animals are marsupials, and almost all of them are nocturnal. Nocturnal native Australian animals are:
- some sixty species of kangaroo, including wallaroo, potoroo, pademelon, rufous rat-kangaroo and wallaby (note: the rat-kangaroo is quite different to the kangaroo rat of North America)
- koala
- wombat
- possum (not opossum)
- glider
- potoroo
- bandicoot, including the bilby
- quokka
- quoll
- Tasmanian Devil
- phascogale
- dunnart
- cuscus
- bettong
- nabarlek
- antechinus
- native hopping mouse
How big is the musky-rat kangaroo?
The Musky Rat Kangaroo's average body size is about 23cm (ranging from 15 to 30 cm), and its head to tail length averages 30-43 cm. The weight, which is similar for both males and females, ranges between 337 and 680 grams.
Answer:
As larger kangaroos are herbivores, they feed on grasses and tender shoots, and therefore do not eat grasshoppers. Smaller species of kangaroos such as musky rat-kangaroos prey on small invertebrates such as earthworms and grasshoppers.
What are the animals of the Australian rainforest?
Some of the many creatures which uinhabit Australian rainforests include:
- Lumholtz's tree-kangaroo
- Bennett's tree-kangaroo
- Sugar glider
- Mahogany glider
- Southern Cassowary
- Platypus
- Echidna
- Spotted cuscus
- Spotted tailed quoll, also known as the Tiger quoll
Tasmania has many of the same plants and animals as australia because?
Tasmania and Australia were once connected by a land bridge when the oceans were lower
Natural predators of the antechinus are various species of owl.
Introduced predators of antechinuses are foxes and feral cats.
Larger animals of prey, like the fox or wild cat, eat the antechinus.
Yes: a dunnart is a small, mouse-sized, carnivorous marsupial found mainly in Australia.
In Australia what animals help Santa pull his sleigh?
Santa uses his reindeer to get to Australia, but once here, he must rest his weary reindeer and use kangaroos, specifically six white boomers (male kangaroos). Kangaroos are required because the reindeer simply cannot cope with the Australian summer, especially in outback areas, where the weather is so hot and dry.
The song goes:
Six white boomers, snow white boomers,
Racing Santa Claus through the blazing sun,
Six white boomers, snow white boomers,
On his Australian run.
What animals live in the Australian alps?
A small selection of animals which live in the Australian Alps include:
- Mountain Pygmy possum
- Common wombat
- Red-necked wallaby
- Swamp wallaby
- Echidna
- Native bush rat
- Broad-toothed rat
- Swainson's Antechinus
- Gould's Wattled Bat
- Lesser long-eared Bat
- Chocolate Wattled bat
- Bobuck (Mountain Brushtail possum)
- Common Brushtail possum
- Eastern Pygmy possum
- Australian Kestrel
- Australian Pipit
- White-browed Scrub Wren
- Flame Robin
- Pied Currawong
- Grey Currawong
- Little Raven
- Tree Dragon
- McCoy's Skink
- Grass Skink
- Water Skink
- Southern Blue Tongue Lizard
- Copperhead Snake
- Alpine Water Skink
- She-oak Skink
- Baw-Baw Frog
- Corroboree Frog
- Ringtail Possum
What are the flightless birds of Australia?
There are many birds which are native to Australia alone. These include:
- emu
- budgerigar
- cockatiel and various other small parrots
- galah
- sulphur-crested cockatoo
- lyrebird
- satin bower-bird
However, many of these species can now be found overseas, having been introduced there as exotic pets.
The marsupial mole eats insects such as beetles, moths, sawflies and ants, and invertebrates such as centipedes. They also feed on eggs, larvae and pupae of these species. They have even been known to eat small reptiles such as geckos.
