AUSTRALIAN WILDLIFE

Australia has quite a bit of wildlife some very unique


We have roughly speaking about
450 species of mammals, 300 species of lizards, 140 species of snakes, 2 species of crocodiles freshwater and saltwater Crocodiles,
2,000 species of bony sea fish, 100 species of sharks,
50 species of rays, 750 species of birds, 2,000 species of flies,
5,000 species of bees, 110,000 species of insects and 110,000 species of insects and 2,000 species of spider.
So we have a few I guess I was not aware we had so many types of flies I must admit but I do know they can be very irritating and a few of them bite just like a horse fly, there are a few bigger ones to be seen and felt in March so we simply call these March flies; in the Australian bush at times one can be covered in the things I’ve eaten a few in my time I know that
Mammals include our whales and we have quite a few of them; amazing animals really and are usually quite friendly towards us; sea lions and seals we have in abundance; did I hear somebody say penguins yes we have quite a few of them also mainly fairy Penguins there is an Island off the Victorian coast with a colony of these along with seals etc; there is also a barely surviving colony of fairy Penguins in Sydney they call them Sydney penguins.
One mammal is the Dingo or wild dog native to this country although some think they are not; they have been here for 15,000 years ago according to our Koori people or indigenous people so if they are not native to this country then the info I read on this is sheer garbage; ah reading on it’s a theory in other words a load of rubbish.
Pictured here is the Dingo (Canis lupus dingo)

We have the distinction of having longest fence in the world just to prevent Dingoes from killing stock; this fence runs from south Australia/NSW and the NSW/Qld borders whether the fence proposed and being built I think by the Bush administration in the USA is or will be longer I do not know frankly I don’t care how long that fence will be I am talking Australia here

Crocodiles here in Australia can only live in the tropics the ones in zoos in the Southern states and in temperate to cold climates live in heated enclosures they are not like the Alligator in that regard I assure you, I know there are some species of crocodiles that live in America but they are not like ours at all in that respect.
They only live in the hot north of this land a long way up past the tropic of Capricorn; the saltwater variety is known as the Estuarine crocodile the freshwater type is known as the Johnsons crocodile, the salty as most call the saltwater type can survive quite a fair way up a river so be warned as it’s the deadliest of the two; it can grow up to seven metres in length about twenty four feet for the benefit of the few people still on their old measurements.

The animal that we seem to be famous for is naturally our Kangaroo also a Mammal commonly called a Roo by most; the Roo belongs to a group of animals known as Marsupials (Macropods); ; now mammals which lay eggs and there are only two by the way the Platypus and the Echidna these are known as Monotremes.
Roos live in groups of ten or more are called mobs some can number up to fifty herbivores they live on grass etc and can go for sometime without water if they have to.


There are many types of Roos far too many for me to list here but there are tree climbing Roos I know.
Another favourite is the Koala sometimes called a Koala bear which it is not; they might look cute but quite a few of them have sexually transmitted diseases so you have been warned.
I am just highlighting a few species of wildlife we have here of course but we do have many colourful birds Lorikeets, Cockatoos, Parrots etc oh and many honey eaters not Humming birds they are only found in the Americas.
My favourites are lizards we have many ranging from the Goanna down and poisonous snakes and spiders abide here this includes the dangerous funnel web Spider
Some are pictured here this one is a Goanna at a BBQ area



Next up this magnificent blue tongue



I shall post more on our animals as I get the time but I do hope you enjoy what I have written and illustrated