Who doesn’t know Australia? A standalone continent with a vast selection of wildlife as well as nature. There are dozens of animals that are only native to Australia. Some of which you might have already know, such as kangaroos or koalas.
These animals are called marsupials, which are animals that have pockets and this type of animal can most likely only be found in Australia.
The explanation behind this is because marsupials could only survive in Australia due to the living conditions and its environment. These marsupials don’t have to escape extreme beasts such as lions, tigers, cheetah and such.
- Platypus
You would probably recognize this animal from cartoons or TV shows. Well here’s a chance to learn more about this animal. A platypus is an animal that is categorized as a monotreme. This means that it is both a mammal and can also lay eggs.
And there are only two monotreme animals in the world, the other one is an Echidna which we will discuss further later on. This animal was first discovered by European scientists and they could not believe it at first.
The male platypus has venomous spurs on the back of their legs, and they also can detect its prey by using its bill. The bill is a hypersensitive organ with receptors that can sense the electric field around it.
To learn more about venomous animals, here are the most venomous animals in the world.
- Tasmanian Devil
This next animal is an adorable furry animal that can only be found in Tasmania, Australia. Besides its adorable face, this animal is known for its loud screeching noise when it feels threatened.
This animal looks similar to a black bear, but it is much smaller in size like a dog. Another unique characteristic of this animal is also the smelly odor it releases.
The Tasmanian devil emits odor only when it feels threatened or when it feels stressed. Usually, when it is calm, it won’t release a pungent odor.
- Lyrebird
Its beauty is one thing about this animal, but its ability to sing is another amazing ability of a lyrebird. A male lyrebird has gorgeous tail feathers that they can fan out, similar to a peacock but less vibrant in color.
These beautiful tail feathers are used to attract the female lyrebirds at the mating season. These lyrebirds can be found on the east coast of Australia out in the wild. Now, its ability to sing is something to talk about.
Lyrebirds can compose their songs. How? Well, they make different sounds from their surroundings, such as other bird sounds, sounds from the environment, or even other animals. Similar to a cockatoo, lyrebirds can even mimic the sounds of car alarms, or any man-made noises too.
- Koala
The koala is another marsupial, similar to kangaroos and wombats, the koala has a pouch to carry its baby. It is also called a koala bear due to its bear-like appearance. You can only find this animal in Australia and nowhere else, this is because their source of food which is eucalyptus leaves only comes native from Australia too.
A koala bear will eat around 1 kilogram of leaves every day. Koalas eat so many leaves that even it smells like the eucalyptus. This animal is equipped with claws to climb trees high up above and to also obtain their food.
- Kangaroo
Who doesn’t know this iconic animal of Australia? They can hop at a speed of around 25 km/h and carries its baby on its tummy. They are adorable and are spread throughout Australia, but don’t ever try to make them mad, because they can harm you.
They live in a herd of 50 or fewer other kangaroos. These animals are considered social animals because they live in communities.
Kangaroos have incredible muscle power, from kicking, punching and even biting. To learn more about kangaroos, here are facts of kangaroo’s baby’s feeding habits.
- Wombat
Another animal that can only be found in Australia is a wombat. These furry animals are great burrowing animals that can dig several meters below the ground. Wombats build their nest below ground and cannot be seen that often above ground.
This animal has amazing claw strength, a rodent-like front tooth and it has a slow metabolism. This means that a wombat grows slowly and it also considered as a slow-moving animal. You can also learn more about Earth’s slowest moving animals.
- Sugar Glider
Last but not least, are sugar gliders. These animals are nocturnal animals that are very active at night. Sugar gliders have unique characteristics of tissue or membrane located between their leg’s hands.
These membranes allow the sugar glider to glide in mid-air and travel from high places to low. The sugar glider is also considered as exotic pets, if you consider having a sugar glider as pets, here are how you can treat your exotic animals as pets.