One of the most unusual and exotic placesof our planet, many travelers rightly consider Australia. And it's not just that there is no Ursa Major constellation in the night sky, and the water in the sink at the sink turns in the opposite direction. Just in the territory of this distinctive country one can meet such wonders, which are not present in any point of the globe. No exception and the wildlife of Australia.
Australian animals are truly unique.Among their representatives you will not find the usual thick-skinned mammals, monkeys or ruminants. Virtually the entire fauna of Australia is of ancient origin. Some species (for example, such as a dingo dog or an Australian echidna) are more than 12 thousand years old. And such an animal as a platypus is still a biological puzzle for scientists from around the world.
The wildlife of Australia is predominantlymarsupials: a constant symbol of the continent, which is immortalized on the country's emblem - kangaroo, koala teddy bear, which is admired by both children and adults, marsupial flying squirrels, tiny posums, clumsy wombats and many others. Kangaroo alone has about 55 species. The smallest of them - woody, which lives on the branches of tropical trees. Its height is about 50 cm. But the largest is the red kangaroo known to all of us, whose height can be up to 1.8 meters. According to calculations, between 30 and 60 million of these jumping representatives of the fauna inhabit the territory of the country.
The Australian echidna deserves special attention.At first glance, it resembles a giant hedgehog, but has nothing in common with it, besides the thorns. She carries eggs in her bag and feeds her cubs with milk. Thanks to the prickly needles, the echidna has practically no enemies, besides the aborigines who cook various local delicacies from its meat and fat.
Threatened with extinction is no lessThe exotic representative of the Australian fauna is the Tasmanian devil. Once it was spread throughout the continent, but now lives only on the island of Tasmania. It is one of the most famous predators among marsupials. He was called the Devil for his fierce temper and black coat color. He is the size of a small dog, however, thanks to his threatening poses and frightening sounds, even large predators avoid this animal.
Australia's real jewelery - koala - cuteanimal that looks like a teddy bear. Koala is a very lazy creature that spends almost a day in a dream - about 20 hours. It feeds on eucalyptus leaves, which are practically inedible for other forest dwellers. In the Aboriginal language, the word "koala" means "does not drink." This is an amazing fact, but the animal doesn’t really need extra liquid, since it receives a sufficient amount of moisture from eucalyptus leaves. About a hundred years ago, people almost destroyed the koala because of its valuable fur, so nowadays it is under reliable protection of the state.
Can't be ignored for realunique, one of a kind, animal - the platypus, which can only be seen in Australia. The body of this waterfowl mammal is covered with thick fur, the head ends with a long flat beak, and there are membranes on the legs. A platypus of eggs incubates its cubs and feeds them with milk. In Australia, special reserves have been created for the safe living of this amazing animal, because until recently, due to the pollution of water bodies, the platypus was threatened with extinction.
The wildlife of Australia is not only marsupials.The largest and only predator among the placental mammals of this region is the dog dingo. She lives throughout Australia and is one of the close relatives of the wolf. These animals have strong and strong jaws, powerful legs, a large body and a bushy tail.
Obviously, words cannot betray all thosewonders that Australia is famous for. Its fauna is many-sided and diverse. So if you are a fan of unusual fauna, be sure to visit this amazing continent. The animal world of Australia will not disappoint you!
