The Exotic Animals of Australia

The Exotic Animals of Australia

When you think of Australia what is the first animal that comes to your mind? Most likely koala or
kangaroo right? Well that’s what I would have thought of before coming on this trip too. After visiting
multiple zoos here, there is so much more to Australian wildlife. Though the kangaroo and the koala still
happen to be my favorite animals here, my knowledge about the animals that I have seen here has
expanded so much. This past week we visited Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane. Though the main
focus of this zoo was Koalas, there were plenty more animals to see. For instance, the wombat. The
wombat is an interesting marsupial because it looks like a mixture between a pig and a bear to me at
least. It has a hard back plate to protect itself from predators and has an upside down pouch to carry its
joeys (baby animals). This nocturnal animal is cute on cuddly but can be very vicious if provoked and is
known to bite. Another animal that interested me was the Tasmanian Devil. This harsh name does not
match the looks of this adorable little mammal. However, the Tasmanian Devil has a bite pressure that is
must more than ours. It can eat its prey whole and snap the neck of any potential food in one bite. Must
unlike the Tasmanian devil, the tame koala bear (who is actually not a bear) is cuddly and munches on
eucalyptus leaves and sleeps 20 hours of its day. I had the opportunity to hold a koala at the sanctuary
and though it is soft and cute it has claws that are very sharp and dig into your skin. These animals are
very protective of their joeys so these claws are more used as a defense mechanism. When their joeys
are born they travel right from the birth canal to the pouch and are about the size of a jelly bean. Also
marsupials, Kangaroos develop their joeys in the same way. At Lone Pine, I actually saw a joey in its
mother’s pouch. It poked its head and leg out and was eating grass when its mother bent down.
Kangaroos are very gentle creatures and love to be fed by tourists which I was able to do. Ironically,
though the kangaroo is the main animal thought of in Australia, they are comparable to deer in America.
When we travelled to Fraser Island, a couple hours away from Brisbane, we saw many creatures out in
the wild while we were hiking. One of these animals was a dingo. Though a dingo appears as a normal
household dog, it still has to be kept in mind that they are wild animals. A few years ago when a couple
brought their three year old to Australia she was hurt by a dingo while trying to feed it when her parents
weren’t looking. Though they appear friendly and will approach you, they are just looking for food and
will attempt any way of getting it. Also while we were on Fraser Island, the cane toads appeared at night
time and were everywhere. When I saw everywhere I mean EVERYWHERE. Cane toads were introduced
to Australia to get rid of the grubs that were eating the sugar cane crops. However, the toads did not
like the grubs and preferred to stay away. In the end they have been viewed as a nuisance where people
go out of their way to kill these toads. On the other hand, they are kept as household pets also. Though
these animals are fun to keep as pets, they can be deadly. If threatened, they produce a puss that
squirts out of pouches on their sides and can kill a human if ingested. Though most of these Australian
animals look friendly and inviting, tourists as well as residents are encouraged to stay away from the
wildlife here.

Peace. Love. Aussie.

Amanda <3

[Note:  posted by Charlie J]