5 Animals Living in the Australian Savanna

The Australian tropical savanna is a home to many animals. Furthermore, it is considered as one of the world’s largest tropical savannas. The Australian tropical savanna is an area of dense grass and scattered trees that stretches across northern Australia from Broome to Townsville. Not only kangaroo, there are some other species of animals to see in Australia.

Regarding to the animals living in the Australian savanna, you can find many species of animals there, including mammals, birds to reptiles. Let’s take a closer look at each of these 5 amazing animals living in the Australian savanna.

• Wallabies

Wallabies are listed as one species of animals found in the Australian savanna. They enjoy eating a varied menu of grasses. They are also able to camouflage against the brown earth and have a very acute hearing to detect predators.

Wallabies are considered marsupials and their young, joeys, are raised in a pouch. They are similar with kangaroos as they have long, powerful tails that are used for balance.

When threatened, they may thump their feet and make a hoarse noise as the alarm to others. They also can give a forceful kick with their back legs. This kicking technique is also used by males when they are fighting each other.

• Long-tailed Finch

Grass finch is a species of birds living in the Australian savanna. There are many types of grass finch, such as long-tailed finch. Long-tailed finch is noticeable by its pale grey head and prominent black bib and eyes. It is commonly seen in dry savanna habitats in Australia.

If you enjoy looking at birds, then make sure to see these birds from Australia too. They are very beautiful!

Long-tailed finch is also one of the bird species that adapts readily to captivity. However, it requires an aviary instead of a cage. This bird species was used to be exported from Australia, but it has been banned nowadays.

Do you know that you can pet some finches? If you’re interested, you can consider keeping one of these popular types of finches to pet at home.

• Goanna

Another animal you can find in the Australian savanna is goanna. Goannas are not only found in savanna, but throughout most of Australia, except for Tasmania. Goannas are considered reptiles and their name is derived from iguana.

Regarding to their diet, it depends mainly on the species and the habitat. Their prey may include all small animals, including insects, smaller lizards, snakes, mammals, birds and eggs. Goannas are also considered as the protected species throughout Australia.

• Bandicoot

The name bandicoot is derived from the term “pandi-kokku” which means “pig-rat” in Telugu, an Indian language. There are 7 species of bandicoots inhabiting Australia. Two of the species are conserved: the long-nosed Bandicoot and the Northern Brown Bandicoot.

Both species of bandicoots are able to live in a variety of habitats, from heaths and woodlands to rainforests. They tend to live in a place with dense vegetations to shelter during the day, and an open areas to search for food at night.

Their sensitive nose is used at night to smell out food. They also use their long, curved toes to dig out the underground fare.

Bandicoots are solitary, terrestrial and nocturnal marsupials. They are very active and love galloping.

Regarding to their diet, they are classified as omnivores as they enjoy eating both plants and animals. Their diet ranges from insects, larvae, lizards, mice to fungi, grass seeds, berries and fruits.

• Echidna

Echidna is another animal you can find in Australian savanna. It is a small animal which is also known as a spiny anteater. Despite this nickname, actually echidna doesn’t have any relation to anteaters at all. Instead, it is thought to be a distant cousin of the duck-billed platypus.

Echidnas feed on ants and other bugs. They don’t have teeth, instead, they use their long tongue to catch their food. Then, they use the hard pads inside their mouth to break down the food. To find the food, they usually use their sharp claws in order to dig into a large rotting log.

Another interesting fact about this creature is they are mammals, but they can lay eggs, similar to their cousin, the platypus.

Unfortunately, all the long-beaked Echidnas are endangered because of illegal hunting as they are edible. Besides, destruction and loss of their habitat is another threat to this cute animal.

Besides echidna, there are also some other endangered animals in Australia we all need to protect. Australia is also home to some amazing animals, such as these snakes to discover in Australia and dangerous animals in Australia you should be aware of!