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Destiny Peris - Mrs Agnew - 7CAS

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Contents
Koala ................................................................................................................................................... 4
Habitat ............................................................................................................................................ 4
Diet ................................................................................................................................................. 4
Physiology ...................................................................................................................................... 4
Breeding ......................................................................................................................................... 5
Threats ........................................................................................................................................... 5
BUSHFIRES ...................................................................................................................................... 6
DIEBACK .......................................................................................................................................... 6
Red Kangaroo ..................................................................................................................................... 7
Description ..................................................................................................................................... 7
Breeding ......................................................................................................................................... 7
Diet ................................................................................................................................................. 7
Habitat ............................................................................................................................................ 7
Platypus .............................................................................................................................................. 8
Description ..................................................................................................................................... 8
Breeding ......................................................................................................................................... 8
Diet ................................................................................................................................................. 8
Habitat ............................................................................................................................................ 8
Threats ........................................................................................................................................... 8










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Koala
What is a koala?
The koala is a small bear-like, tree-dwelling, herbivorous marsupial which
averages about 9kg (20lb) in weight. Its fur is thick and usually ash grey with
a tinge of brown in places.

Habitat
'Habitat' refers to the types of bushland that koalas like to live in. They are found in a
range of habitats, from coastal islands and tall eucalypt forests to low woodlands inland.
Koalas today are found in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.
Their range extends from the Atherton Tableland west of Cairns in Qld to islands off the
coast of Victoria and South Australia in the south, and west to central and western Qld,
NSW and Victoria.

Diet
Koala's are very fussy eaters and have strong preferences for different types of gum
leaves, then the most important factor which make habitats suitable are the presence of
tree species preferred by koalas (usually eucalypts, but also some non-eucalypts) growing
in particular associations on suitable soils with adequate rainfall.
In Australia there are over 600 types of eucalypts, but koalas will not eat a large
proportion of these. Within a particular area, as few as one, and generally no more than
two or three species of eucalypt will be regularly browsed while a variety of other
species, including some non-eucalypts, appear to be browsed occasionally or used for just
sitting or sleeping in.
Different species of eucalypts grow in different parts of Australia, so a koala in Victoria
would have a very different diet from one in Queensland. Koalas like a change, too, and
sometimes they will eat from other trees such as wattle or tea tree.
Physiology
The Koala is well suited to life in the trees. The koala has an excellent sense of balance
and its body is lean and muscular and its quite long, strong limbs support its weight when
climbing. The arms and legs are nearly equal in length and the koala's climbing strength
comes from the thigh muscle joining the shin much lower than in other animals. Its paws
are especially adapted for gripping and climbing with rough pads on the palms and soles
helping it to grip tree trunks and branches. Koalas have a thick woolly fur which protects
them from both high and low temperatures. It also acts like a 'raincoat' to repel moisture
when it rains. Koalas are mostly nocturnal animals and they are most active during the
night and at dawn and dusk.
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Breeding
The main characteristics of marsupials which differentiate them from other mammals is
that they give birth to immature young which then develop further in a pouch. The word
'marsupial' comes from the Latin word marsupium, meaning 'pouch.' Most, but not all
marsupials have a pouch in which to raise their young.
The breeding season for koalas runs roughly from September to March. This is a time of
increased activity, and sound levels increase as males bellow more frequently. This is also
when the young from the previous year are weaning from their mothers.

Threats
Since European settlement, approximately 80% of Australia's eucalypt forests have been
decimated. Of the remaining 20% almost none is protected and most occurs on privately-
owned land.

The main causes of loss of habitat include:
LAND CLEARING
Clearing of the land for expansion of human settlement for
agriculture
housing
mining
forestry
factories
roads

The results of this would include:
loss of habitat
increased disturbance by humans
injury or death from traffic
injury or death from dogs and cats
effects of garden pesticides getting into waterways
increased competition for food and territory because of overcrowding
Increased stress on animals, making them more susceptible to disease.
It has also been documented that over 4000 koalas are killed each year by dogs and cars.
It easy to see that the biggest threat to the Koala population is the human.

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BUSHFIRES
Koala populations in fragmented areas of bush land are at great risk of localized
extinction from a single fire which may wipe out an entire habitat. Bushfires are
extremely common in the summer months.

DIEBACK
Changes in the balance of the ecosystem can lead to dieback of trees. The cutting back of
the original vast forests has created patches of forest separated from each other by
treeless land. Small, isolated patches of forest are prone to dieback. Dieback is a general
term for the gradual dying of trees due to factors such as land degradation, leaching of
soil nutrients, changes in the composition of vegetation communities, rising water levels
underground, salivation of the soil, erosion caused by wind and water, exposure to
weather and excessive defoliation (or loss of leaves).
The underlying cause of all these factors appears to be the clearing and disturbance of
forests. Seventy five percent of the main koala food tree species are declining in numbers
as a result of this.



Figure 1: Koala - Source: Google Images















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Red Kangaroo
Macropus rufus
Status: Common
The red kangaroo is the largest of all the marsupials and live in family groups
on the plains and deserts of Central Australia.

Description
Male red kangaroos have short dense woolly fur and are pale to brick red in colour, while
the females are blue-grey, though in some areas both sexes are red. Both have distinctive
white below. The muzzle is dusky, naked and sharply defined with a distinctive black and
white patch on each side. Red kangaroos travel with head down. Males weigh up to 90kg,
the females are smaller at 35kg (also known as the "Blue-fliers"). Males can stand over
1.8m tall.

Breeding
Kangaroos breed throughout the year. Newly born young, known as joeys, weigh less
than 1 gram and make their way into the pouch unassisted by their mother.

Diet
Green herbage, including grasses and herbivorous plants.

Habitat
Red kangaroos are found in central Australia and prefer open plains with scattered shade
trees under which they rest during the day. They are semi-nomadic preferring to graze
mostly at night but can extend to late evening and early morning




Figure 2: Red Kangaroo - Source: Google images







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Platypus
Ornithorhyncus anatinus
Status: Platypus are common but vulnerable.
The platypus is a monotreme, like the echidna but are extremely specialized
for an aquatic lifestyle in fresh water. For many years, platypus were hunted
for their thick fur. Platypus are mostly nocturnal and solitary animals.

Description
Platypus have a broad soft leathery bill, dense water-repellent brown fur, webbed feet
and clawed toes. It uses its webbed front feet for swimming, folding the web under its
paw to walk. The Platypus spends much of its time in the water so its eyes are on the top
of its head and the nostrils open on top of its bill. When submerged, the platypus closes
its eyes, nostrils and ear holes relying on the touch receptors on the skin of the bill for its
information.
The platypus's tail is broad and flat, its hind feet are used to help steer and brake while
swimming the hind ankles of the male have a venomous spur.

Breeding
Mating starts on August in the warmer areas and as late as October in Tasmania. Females
lay two eggs and incubate the eggs by curling her body around them as she lies on a nest
of grasses at the end of the burrow. Eggs hatch in about 2 weeks and young are fed for
four to five months on milk that secretes from pore ducts of the mammary glands on the
mothers abdomen.

Diet
Platypus eat a variety of invertebrates such as crustaceans and molluscs. They collect
food from the river bottom and store it in cheek pouches until the reaching the surface.
The platypus then floats on its back chewing the food between horny grinding plates in its
mouth.

Habitat
The platypus lives in burrows on the banks of fresh water streams and lakes of Eastern
Australia including Tasmania. It sleeps most of the day in its burrow feeding mainly
around dawn and dusk. Local climate may change this behaviour.

Threats
WIRES looks after platypus which are sick, orphaned or injured due to lacerations from
outboard motors, poisoning from pollution, entanglement from netting and habitat loss.



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Figure 3: Platypus Source: Google Images






























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References:

Authors name:
Title of the work: The Koala Foundation
Title of the complete work:
Address: http://www.savethekoala.com/
Date of visit: 19/02/02

Authors name:
Title of the work: Kangaroo
Title of the complete work: Wires
Address: http://www.wires.au.com/animals/kangaroo.htm
Date of visit: 21/02/02

Authors name:
Title of the work: Emu
Title of the complete work: Wires
Address: http://www.wires.au.com/animals/emu.htm
Date of visit: 21/02/02

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