| 
Text & Photos - Copyright © 1997
National
Parks & Wildlife Service NSW |
Kangaroos
and wallabies are usually noctural .... the joeys
of the larger macropods have outgrown the pouch
by eight months of age. There are 48 species of
macropods. Four occur in the A.C.T.
They
are:
Eastern grey kangaroo, eastern wallaroo,
swamp wallaby and red-necked wallaby.
Macropods
vary in height from 0.4m to 2.0. Many small macropods
have become extinct due to habitat alteration,
competition
from rabbits, sheep and predacious foxes.
The
red and grey kangaroos are not in danger of extinction.
These spies have benefited form increases food
an
water made available when land was cleared and
dams built.
Kangaroos
and wallabies belong to a group of animals known
as macropods:
macro means large, and pod means
foot. |
Did you know?
Dingoes
were probably brought to Australia thousands of years
ago. Unlike domestic dogs, dingoes are found throughout
the Australian mainland from desert areas to the mountains....
they breed only once during the year and have litters
of 4-6 pups. They eat what is easiest to catch or find
and even catch echidnas. They are known to interbreed
with domestic dogs.
Dingoes
are mostly tawny- yellow but creamy- white and black
are common.
Dingoes
do not bark like domestic dogs but howl instead. This
occurs mainly just before and during the breeding season.
Younger members of the pack do not breed but help look
after the pups by bringing them food, and even water.
They
occasionally live in pairs but more often in packs which
are probably family groups.
Did you know?
Bat's
wings are actually their elongated arms and hands, with
skin stretched between the fingers and joining onto the
legs.
In
some Bats its skin also includes the tail, forming a
pocket with which they catch and hold prey caught in
flight.
Bats
roost upside down during the day in tree hollows, caves
under bark and in roofs of buildings. They are only mammals
having true flight. In winter bats go into a type of
sleep
or torpor. Bats are not blind. Sight is important especially
on moonlit nights. Most small bats eat insects while
the
larger bats eat fruit and blossom.
There
are about 50 species of bats in Australia. The smallest
bat in the A.C.T. weighs only 3 grams. They emit high
pitched sounds similar to radar to locate food and obstacles
in their flight path.
Did you know?
The
LYREBIRD lives in the wet eucalypt forests. The male
lyrebird builds several mounds of soil on which he displays
and
calls. The male has very long tail feathers and early
scientists thought they resembled the shape of an ancient
Greek instrument: the LYRE.
The
best time to hear the lyrebird's call is in the winter.
They eat grub, worms, millipedes and termites which they
obtain by scratching in the ground and leaf litter.
Although
it can fly, the lyrebird spends most of its time on the
ground.
At
Tidbinbilla the male lyrebird mimics the call of the
Kookaburra, Crimson Rosella, Thrush two types cockatoo
and many others.
The female builds a separate dome-shaped nest in which
she lays only one egg. They are shy birds so if you wants
to see one you must walk quietly. |
