Fourth Crossing Wildlife

Did you Know?

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Anthropozoonosis is a disease of humans transmissible to animals, eg: Tuberculosis, Clamydiosis, Ross River Virus, Mycotic Dermatitis.

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Emu's feed widely spaced from each other and even members of a pair may be separated from each other by a kilometre or more for most of the day. They have such keen eyesight that a kilometre is possibly no barrier to contact.

Other than the actual laying of eggs a female Emu plays no active role in rearing Emu chicks. The male Emu incubates between 5 and 20 eggs and will sit without eating or drinking for 8 weeks! During his incubation fast his temperature drops 3 or 4 degrees and he is effectively torpid, although he does rise to turn the eggs at least daily.

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When Europeans arrived in Australia, four forms of Emu occurred: the Mainland Emu, the Tasmanian Emu, the King Island Emu and the Kangaroo Island Emu. The three island Emu's were exterminated rapidly and only the mainland form survived.

At night time, when a torch is shone on a native animal their eyes will flash red in the darkness, an introduced animal, eg: a cat or a fox, will flash green eyes.

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Some geckos have no moveable eyelids, so they use their tongue to lick clean their eyes. This behaviour is unique to geckos and snake lizards.

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Here's an easy way of telling the Western Grey Kangaroo and the Eastern Grey Kangaroo apart - the Western Grey Kangaroo has thick fur on the base of the ears only. The tip to about ¾ of the way down is bare or very short fur. The Eastern Grey Kangaroo has dense fur from the base of the ears to the tip.

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The Koala's closest living relative is the wombat, although the genetic code between the two species differs by more than 20% (the difference in genetics between humans and chimpanzees is less than 1%).

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The Lyrebird is a master at mimicking the songs of other birds and the sounds it hears in from its surroundings in the Australian bush. The Lyrebird is often heard calling the perfects sounds of the kookaburra, galah, cockatoo and others. It can also copy the sounds of chainsaws and cars and for those living near humans, it has also been known to bark like a dog.

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An adult Macropod (kangaroo, wallaby, wallaroo, etc) can be a fearsome creature with an aggressive nature when frightened or put in a stressful situation. Signs of aggression or stress include loud vocalisations such as hissing and grunting, licking forearms and thumping the ground with their strong hind legs.

Macropods cannot sweat. If a Macropod becomes overheated or is stressed it will lick its forearms to cool down.

Female Macropods have four teats, however usually only one young is born at a time and from the time of birth to the time of weaning a joey feeds from the same teat. Amazingly, it is possible for a Macropod to have one joey in the pouch and another at foot that is still suckling by sticking its head in the pouch and she can produce two different milk compositions at the same time for the different stages of suckling joeys.

There are only two Monotremes found in the world - the Platypus and the Echidna. Monotremes do not have teats but rather secret milk through pores on the belly.

Did you know that Australia has a marsupial that is not only blind, but it doesn't have any eyes at all? And, it also lacks external ears? The Marsupial Mole lives in Australia's sandy deserts however it is rarely seen as it spends most of its life underground. The rare times the mole does venture above land is usually just after rain. The mole doesn't burrow like a wombat, but constantly tunnels through the sand which is known as "sand swimming". There are two species of the Marsupial Mole, the Southern (Notoryctes typhlops) and the Northern (Notoryctes caurinus).

Myopathy (degenerative lesions of the muscle) can be caused by more than usual physical exertion (for example, during capture process). Myopathy often affects Macropods, especially the Eastern Grey Kangaroo and the Western Grey Kangaroo. Myopathy often leads to the death of a Macropod.

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The Northern Hairy-Nosed Wombat is Australia's most endangered species. In 1971 there were only 30 individuals and today there are 138. Northern Hairy-Nosed Wombat's are found in only two locations - Epping Forest National Park (Scientific) in central Queensland and now, after a successful translocation, at the Richard Underwood Nature Refuge near St George in Queensland.

The heart shaped facial disc of owls helps them hear. When the sound of prey (eg: moths, crickets and mice) reaches the owl it is channelled along the contours of the facial disc directly to the ears.

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Some pardolote species, such as the Spotted Pardolote, build their nests underground at the end of a tunnel.

The Peregrine Falcon is the fastest bird on earth and has been clocked at speeds of 140kms per hour.

A possum, including Brushtail Possums and Ringtail Possums can be aggressive animals if threatened. Signs of aggression and stress include loud vocalisations and hissing. A Brushtail Possum will defend itself by biting and scratching and Ringtail Possums have been known to launch themselves at their oppressors face.

Sometimes possums get poisoned with Ratsac when the baits are left our for rats and mice in ceiling cavities. The antidote for this is a Vitamin K injection, however it must be given as quickly as possible after ingestion for it to be effective.

Moths balls or camphor is an effective deterrent for possums in your roof, as they hate the smell of it (so do rats). Place the camphor or moth balls in paper envelope's and lay in regular intervals in the ceiling cavity. Be sure not to mix the moth balls and camphor together as you will get a nasty chemical reaction.

A baby Echidna or Platypus is called a puggle. These two Australian mammals are the only ones that lay eggs and do not give birth to live young.

Shingleback Lizards are monogamous (faithful to one another). Each year the same male and female will seek each other out, court one another and mate. They will often stay together for eight weeks before parting company until the next breeding season.

The female Shingleback Lizard gives birth to live young, sometimes two at a time. The young is nearly one third the mothers size when born!

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The Tasmanian Devil eats practically every parts of its prey. With their powerful jaws and strong sharp teeth they can crush and eat bone. Their characteristic poo is often splintered with shards of bone.

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There are there species of wombat - the Bare-Nosed Wombat, the Northern Hairy-Nosed Wombat and the Southern Hairy-Nosed Wombat. The Hairy-Nosed Wombat's come under the genus Lasiorhinus. The Northern Hairy-Nosed Wombat's scientific name is Lasiorhinus kreffeti and the Southern Hairy-Nosed Wombat's scientific name is Lasiorhinus latifrons. The Bare-Nosed Wombat comes under the genus Vombatus and its scientific name is Vombatus Ursinus. There are three sub-species of the Bare-Nosed Wombat - Vombatus Ursinus ursinus which can be found on Flinders Island ; Vombatus ursinus tasmaniensis which is located only within Tasmania; and Vombatus Ursinus hirsutus which is located in the south-eastern areas of the mainland.

Wombats are aggressive animals once they have reached adulthood. Signs of aggression and stress are very loud vocalisations (which sound like a scream) and teeth gnashing. Wombats will fiercely defend their territory by biting and scratching an intruder.

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The wombats closest living relative is the Koala, although the genetic code between the two species differs by more than 20% (the difference in genetics between humans and chimpanzees is less than 1%).

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Zoonosis is a disease, illness or infection of animals that is transmissible to humans, eg: ticks, mange, Tuberculosis, Chlamydiosis, Mycotic Dermatitis, Bat Lyssavirus.