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Wild Defenders Marsupials Booklet

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Marsupials Love and pouches NaturallyGC Junior Wild Defenders Wild Defenders badges to our IG CLEA TLETAS IFE RE B N R T L S I D C U C E L U U T I H E P W T Wild Defenders • • • • N • N • Na C a C a C There are three groups of mammals on earth today: turallyG turallyG turallyG • marsupials • placental mammals (e.g. cows, horses, humans) • monotremes (the echidna and platypus). HUG EE GE R R Marsupials are pouched mammals which give birth to T babies that are not fully developed (although some, • such as the numbat, do not have a pouch). There • N Na C a C Na C turallyG turallyG turallyG are over 330 marsupial species and they are found naturally ONLY in Australia, New Guinea, South America and parts of North America. EEN H SUPIA Some of our most well-loved and unique Australian GR O AR L U S animals belong to this group, including. E M S H E T • kangaroos and wallabies (macropods) • • N • • • wombats a C Na C Na C turallyG turallyG turallyG • koalas • possums and gliders • quokkas (Google me, I’m usually smiling for PPI the camera!). A NG TRONOM M S Y A Each species has evolved to live in balance with all the plants and other animals in their habitat. • • • • • N • N a C Na C at GC turallyG turallyG urally As you work through this booklet, you will discover some of Queensland’s incredible marsupial animals, where they live, what they eat and how you can help them to stay strong and healthy in the wild. So, let’s get started! Collect them all cityofgoldcoast.com.au/naturallygc Spotlight on marsupials Profile: The ancestors of macropods all lived in the trees but millions of years ago they evolved to live on the ground. The only tree Macropods dwelling macropod in Australia today is the tree kangaroo, which lives in North Queensland. Macropods are well known for their amazing ability to move by jumping. Their bodies are specially designed for this, with short front legs, powerful back legs, big back feet and long strong tails to give them balance. Did you know that, in a single leap, some kangaroos can jump as high as 3 metres and as far as 7 metres? Kangaroos often live in groups called a mob. These mobs are made of joeys, females and males. The largest male is the leader of the mob. This group of animals includes kangaroos, wallabies and wallaroos. Most macropod species are nocturnal, which means that they Conservation status: The larger kangaroo species are generally secure but many of are active only at night. The medium and larger species are often the smaller macropod species are threatened. crepuscular, spending hot days in the shade and grazing in the late afternoon and early morning. The musky rat-kangaroo is the Habitat: Just about everywhere in Australia! only truly diurnal species, active during the day. • Red kangaroos are found on flat open plains. • Grey kangaroos also live on plains but prefer scrubs and forests. • Wallaroos inhabit rocky outcrops or stony ground. • Rock-wallabies live among piles of boulders, rocky hills and cliffs. • Tree-kangaroos are found in mountainous rainforests of north Queensland. • Smaller species of wallabies and kangaroos live in a wide range of habitats. Fun fact Diet: Macropods are herbivorous. Large species feed mostly on grass. MACROPODS EVOLVED AROUND 16 MILLION Small macropods can eat a variety of vegetation, fruit, seeds and fungi. YEARS AGO FROM A POSSUM-LIKE ANCESTOR. Wombats Profile: Wombats are nocturnal and spend their days sleeping in burrows. The burrows are very complex tunnel systems, which can be over 30 metres long and have many different entrances. In common with other wombat species, they dig these out with their sharp, powerful claws and teeth, moving up to 1 metre of earth in a day. Wombats have a pouch to rear their young. However, their pouch is different to most other marsupials - it faces backwards. This is to prevent any soil from getting in while they dig their burrows. That is smart evolution! The front teeth of the wombat resemble those of a rodent. There are three species of wombat: the common wombat, the They continuously grow as they have adapted to gnawing on Northern hairy-nosed wombat and the closely related Southern tough vegetation. hairy-nosed wombat. Conservation status: • Common wombat is considered to be secure. • Southern hairy-nosed wombat is listed as near-threatened. • Northern hairy-nosed wombat is one of the most critically endangered wildlife species on the planet. Habitat: • Common wombat – temperate forests of south-eastern Australia. • Southern hairy-nosed wombat – semi-arid grasslands and woodland in Western Australia, southern South Australia, and south-western New South Wales. Fun fact WOMBATS HAVE A VERY LONG AND SLOW DIGESTIVE 2 2 • Northern hairy-nosed wombat – a 3 km range within the 32 km Epping Forest PROCESS, WHICH MEANS IT CAN TAKE OVER TWO National Park in Queensland. WEEKS FOR THEM TO GO TO THE TOILET AFTER EATING A MEAL. ONE VERY UNUSUAL THING ABOUT Diet: Wombats are herbivorous and their diet includes tough grasses, herbs, roots WOMBATS IS THAT THEY HAVE CUBE-SHAPED POO! and even bark. Possums Profile: They are nocturnal and mainly rely on tree hollows for shelter. The common ringtail possum is capable of building a type of nest called a drey, which is a bunch of sticks woven together in the branches of a tree. Gliders are a special group of possum that have a piece of skin running from their wrists down to the ankles, which allows them to glide from tree to tree. Although bats are the only mammals capable of powered flight, gliders can travel through the air and can even change direction. The yellow-bellied glider is the largest species in this genus and can glide up to 150 metres in a single leap! Some possums have very strong prehensile tails which they can use to grasp branches when climbing through the trees, looking for food. Possums love to eat the leaves, flowers and fruits of native trees but some consume insects and even birds’ eggs and chicks. Many gliders and some of the other small possum species rely on the nectar and pollen of native plants. There are 23 possum species in Australia, the most abundant being the common brushtail possum and the common ringtail possum. Conservation status: Around one quarter of all possum species are threatened and the populations of many other species are declining, mainly because of habitat loss and predation by feral animals. Habitat: Possums are found in a variety of habitats all around Australia, including Fun fact woodland, shrubland, forest, rainforest, mangrove and eucalyptus forest. They THE LARGEST POSSUMS CAN WEIGH BETWEEN inhabit arid, semi-arid, temperate, and tropical regions, as well as lowlands and 4 AND 5 KG, SIMILAR TO A DOMESTIC CAT. THE TINY mountainous areas. FEATHERTAIL GLIDER WEIGHS ONLY 13 GRAMS, Diet: Possums are mainly herbivores and their main diet includes the leaves, flowers, ABOUT THE SAME AS A AAA BATTERY. buds and fruits of native trees. Koala Profile: The koala is a nocturnal specialist feeder, meaning it relies mainly on one food item for its survival and is active mostly at night. Koalas have evolved to eat the leaves of eucalypt trees. These are highly toxic to most animals and contain very few nutrients, therefore many animals would not be able to eat them. Because of the low nutritional value of their food, koalas have evolved to digest their food very slowly. They also conserve energy by spending between 18 and 20 hours a day resting and sleeping in the fork of a tree. Koalas become more active at night, moving between the trees to forage for tender young leaves. There are ONLY three animals that can survive mainly on eucalypts; the koala, There is only one surviving the greater glider and the ringtail possum. These animals have extremely long species of koala in Australia, digestive systems and little bugs (known as microbes) in their stomachs that although the fossils of several help them to break down their food. Koala joeys get these bugs by eating a related species have been found. gooey substance, known as pap, which their mum excretes from her bottom. Female koalas start breeding at around 3 or 4 years old and usually produce one joey each year. However, some produce offspring only every 2 or 3 years, depending on their age and the quality of their habitat. Conservation status: In Queensland koalas are listed as vulnerable. Koala joeys spend the first few months of life developing in their mother’s Habitat: In coastal areas of eastern and southern Australia, including Queensland, pouch. When they leave the pouch, they ride on their mother’s back. Juvenile New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. koalas remain with their mothers for at least a year, until the next season’s joey appears outside the pouch. The older joey must then disperse and find its Diet: They survive exclusively on a diet of Eucalyptus leaves which are high in fibre own home range. and low in protein. Some of the main species in South East Queensland include Eucalyptus tereticornis, E. microcorys. E. robusta and E. propinqua. Fun fact RESCUED KOALA JOEYS LOVED TO CUDDLE TEDDY BEARS WHILST BEING CARED FOR BY WILDLIFE CARERS. CHALLENGE 1: You can print me Find the marsupial off and colour me in! Complete the word search to discover the names of marsupials found in Australia. Some of these are common species that may even live in your neighbourhood, but others are less well-known.
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