…all creatures great and small,
things deadly and beautiful,
Australia has them all!
Something you notice pretty soon after arrival in Australia is that the wildlife is, well, just a bit strange. Having spent the last 5 months studying the biology of this fascinating country, I couldn’t end without a post highlighting some of the array of weird and wonderful creatures that can be found out here.
So why is the wildlife here so unique? Well, in a nutshell, Australia was once part of Gondwana, a huge landmass encompassing Africa, South America, India and Antarctica. Gondwana fractured in stages, and some 50 million years ago Australia became isolated. Life in Australia continued to evolve independently of life elsewhere — more than 80% of plants, mammals, reptiles and frogs are unique to Australia.
This means that some mammals here lay eggs, others have pouches, some have poison: it’s understandable why the early European settlers were a bit confused by this faraway topsy-turvy land…
“But this is New Holland, where it is summer with us when it is winter in Europe… Australia is the land of contrarieties, where the laws of nature seemed reversed… where the swans are black and the eagles white… where the mole… lays eggs, suckles its young and has a duck’s bill.” — Barron Field, a lawyer, poet, critic, after visiting New South Wales in 1816.
One of the first things they noticed was that the swans were black, a thing that had previously been considered impossible.
But the black swan must have seemed normal to the Europeans when they came across a bird with a turkey’s head, a mammal-like body and dinosaur feet. Presenting… the Cassowary. Warning signs exist informing you to “Be Cassowary” and you are wise to pay heed to this advice. In an article entitled “The Ten Worst Ways to Die in The Wild” death by Cassowary ranked at number 1. At 6 foot tall, 129 pounds and with a top speed of 31 mph, you will not outrun a Cassowary. They can leap 5 feet into the air and deliver a nasty (if not fatal wound) with a sharp kick of the legs. They are true avian ninjas.
While we’re on the subject of animals that can cause you significant damage, did you know that Australia has 10 of the world’s 15 most poisonous snakes? And the platypus has venom strong enough to kill a small dog. Blimey.
Let’s shift focus to the cute. Obviously, this blog post wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the incredibly cute Koala – check out my previous blog post here. Or the kangaroo, of which there are an estimated 40 million (compared to 20 million people). Interestingly, they can’t walk backwards, but they can swim. And you know that thing they say about toddlers staying in their prams for too long when they are quite capable of walking? Well, Kangaroos may have this tendency too…
They are frequently shot to keep their numbers down, so kangaroo steaks are a feature of the menus out here. Marsupials, like koalas and kangaroos, are not found anywhere else in the world. Neither are the platypus and the echidna — the only two egg laying mammals.
Next up… you can have a conversation with a cockatoo, a friendly bird that can mimic voices. Or you could have a ride on a camel with an attitude, that will not move if it does not want to move (camels were actually introduced to Australia from India). Or you can sing with the kookaburra sitting in an old gum tree. Or maybe just marvel at the wombat, a unique creature with a backwards pouch.
You can get up close and personal with the crocs at Australia Zoo…
Or stumble across the middle of the Jungle Book…
And somewhere within see an endangered crayfish…
The toilets are uniquely Australian…
The gas boxes are colourful…
And if children’s books in Scotland look like this…
…children’s books in Australia look like this…
The incredible beaches that stretch out for miles are one of the most wonderful things of all…
So this blog post concludes my stay in Australia; 5 adventure filled months of exploring the weird and wonderful that will be with be for years to come! Now I just need to survive the final airport hurdles: not standing behind someone carrying a surfboard on an escalator and not trying to board the plane with my cricket bat (the first thing on the “dangerous items forbidden in cabin” list).
Until next time…
Laura writes... 