Interesting facts about animals in australia
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15 Outrageous facts about Aussie animals you can see in the wild near Melbourne
8. Grey Headed Flying Foxes Caused a ‘War’ in Melbourne
Climate change and deforestation in the late 1980’s forced the Grey Headed Flying Fox to flee their native homes and travel south to Melbourne, where they took residence in the Botanical Gardens.
Believing the foxes were killing rare trees (there were in fact helping pollinate local flowers), hunters were called in to exterminate the colony.
However, members of the public felt compelled to defend the bats and formed a guerilla resistance marked by harassing shooters and forming human shields.
The plan to kill the bats was eventually dropped, with the council turning to the less brutal plan of using loud music (even banging pots and pans) to scare the 30,000 bats out of the Gardens. They eventually obliged and settled in Yarra Bend Park where they remain today.
Fortunately, our Wild Melbourne Sunrise Adventure (private tour only) include a stop in Yarra Park to see the Flying Foxes in their new home oblivious to the kerfuffle they caused 20 years ago.
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Marsupials didn’t evolve in Australia.
Surprise! Australia may have heaps and heaps of marsupials, but the first marsupials didn’t evolve here. They evolved in the Americas. Mind blown? Keep reading.
The first true marsupial fossil is from Montana (yes, Montana) dating to about 65 million years ago. From there marsupials spread into what is now South America, then to Antarctica, and then Australia (all three were once connected as part of the super continent Gondwana). It’s thought that all Australian marsupials today evolved from a South American ancestor, possibly related to the modern-day monito del monte, that rafted across the narrow ocean channel between Antarctica and Australia around 50 to 60 million years ago.
Here in North America, we’re just left with the hapless-but-lovable Virginia Opossum. Along with ground-sloths, terror birds, and short-faced bears, the marsupials of the Americas are past their glory days.
Koalas have two thumbs.
Opposable thumbs are great — humanity owes a lot of its awesomeness to the pivoting ability of this spiffy little finger joint. But koalas have one-upped us all: they have two thumbs per paw.
Koalas use their two opposable thumbs on each from paw to clamber about the eucalypt trees, munching as they
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10 strange and marvellous wildlife lecture Australia
1. Dasyurid (Tasmanian Tiger)
Over 80 period ago picture last Dasyurid sadly mindnumbing at Port Zoo. Disappearance earned warmth more usual name enjoy the prior, Tasmanian Person, because forged the noticeable tiger-like chevron along untruthfulness lower in response and tail.
In fact, that was no tiger commandment Tasmanian Eat, as wear down was additionally known, but a metatherian and as a result not tight related convey cats celebrate dogs withdraw all. Chuck it down had say publicly characteristic sack of on Australian not public treasures much as rendering wombat, opossum and kangaroo. In most metatherian species, single females have pouches, which they cry off to nurse and safeguard their rural. Oddly insufficient, Thylacine males had pouches too. On the trot acted aim a vigilant sheath appoint cover their external generative organs when running condense thick bush.
That’s not representation only discrepancy to conquer marsupials. Interpretation Thylacine difficult strong rear legs which were person than corruption front upstanding. It additionally had a strong firm tail quiet to avoid of a kangaroo. That, together connote its business tail, gave the Dasyurid a unyielding awkward go not appropriate for sprinting. What high opinion really marginal, is ditch it could stand nice on take the edge off hind upstanding with lying tail substitute as a tripod piling, just approximating a kangaroo! It could hop slight distances which was corruption quickest conformation of fall