Fauna of Australia: the wonders of nature

One of the most unusual and exotic corners of our planet, many travelers rightly consider Australia. And it's not just that there is no constellation of the Big Dipper on the night sky , but the water in the sink is drained in the opposite direction when draining. Just in the territory of this distinctive country you can meet such curiosities, which are not found in any point of the globe. Not an exception and fauna of Australia.

Australian animals are really unique. Among their representatives you will not find habitual thick-skinned mammals, monkeys or ruminants. Almost the whole fauna of Australia is of an ancient origin. Some species (for example, such as a dingo dog or Australian echidna) are more than 12 thousand years old. And an animal like the platypus is still a biological puzzle for scientists from all over the world.

The fauna of Australia is mainly marsupial animals: the invariable symbol of the continent, which is immortalized on the coat of arms of the country - kangaroo, teddy bear koala, which is admired both in children and adults, marsupial flying squirrels, tiny possums, clumsy wombats and many others . Kangaroo alone has about 55 species. The smallest of them is wood, which lives on the branches of tropical trees. Its height is about 50 cm. But the biggest one is the red-haired kangaroo, known to all of us, whose height can be up to 1.8 meters. According to estimates, in the territory of the country there are from 30 to 60 million of these jumping representatives of fauna.

Of particular note is the Australian echidna. At first glance, it resembles a giant hedgehog, but has nothing to do with it, in addition to thorns, does not. She carries eggs in her bag and feeds her cubs with milk. Thanks to spiny needles, echidna has practically no enemies, in addition to Aborigines, who cook various local delicacies from its meat and fat.

Under threat of extinction is no less exotic representative of the Australian fauna - Tasmanian devil. Once it was distributed throughout the continent, but now lives only on the island of Tasmania. This is one of the most famous predators among the marsupials. He was called the devil for his fierce disposition and black coat color. It is the size of a small dog, however, thanks to its menacing poses and awesome sounds, this animal is bypassed even by large predators.

The real decoration of Australia is a koala - a cute little animal that looks like a teddy bear. Koala is a very lazy creature that spends almost all day in a dream - about 20 hours. It feeds on eucalyptus leaves, which are practically inedible for other forest dwellers. In the language of aborigines, the word "koala" means "does not drink". This is an amazing fact, but the animal really does not need additional fluid, as a sufficient amount of moisture is obtained from the eucalyptus leaves. About a hundred years ago, people practically exterminated the koala because of its valuable fur, so in our time it is under reliable state protection.

One can not ignore the truly unique, one-of-a-kind, animal - platypus, which can only be seen in Australia. The body of this waterfowl mammal is covered with thick fur, the head ends with a long, flat beak, and the paws have membranes. Sucks his young platypus from eggs, and feeds them with milk. In Australia, special reserves have been created for the safe living of this amazing animal, since not so long ago, because of the pollution of the reservoirs, the platypus was threatened with extinction.

The fauna of Australia is not only marsupials. The largest and only predator among the placental mammals of this region is the dingo dog. It dwells throughout Australia and is one of the close relatives of a wolf. These animals have strong and strong jaws, powerful legs, a large body and a fluffy tail.

Obviously, with words it is impossible to betray all the miracles that Australia is famous for. The animal world is multifaceted and diverse. Therefore, if you are a fan of unusual fauna, be sure to visit this amazing continent. The fauna of Australia will definitely not disappoint you!