Animal Tracks Activity
http://www.kidcyber.com.au/topics/Austendangered.htm
Australian Endangered Animals
When the numbers of a species, or kind, of animals becomes very low, they are facing a risk
of becoming extinct.
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Extinct means there are no more left.
Critically endangered indicates that the species is facing an extremely high risk of
becoming extinct very soon.
Endangered means a species is in danger of becoming extinct.
Vulnerable means that the species is not yet classified as endangered, but numbers are
continuing to drop.
In the past 200 years about 17 different Australian mammals have become extinct. Many
more mammals and other animals are in danger of dying out. Australia has more endangered
species than any other continent.
Some reasons for animals becoming endangered:
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Some Australian animals depend on a specific food or habitat, and if these disappear,
the animals will not survive.
Many native animals are killed by introduced predators such as cats, dogs, and foxes.
Other introduced animals such as cattle, rabbits and deer eat the food needed by
native animals and this has also reduced the numbers.
Hoofed grazing animals such as cattle and sheep often crush the burrows of small
native animals. Hoofed animals are introduced, not native to Australia.
Loss of habitat as land is mined or cleared for houses or farms, or forests logged for
timber, is also another major cause of the reduction of native animal numbers.
Today we are going in search of animals. Some are endangered, and some are not.
How do we know if there might be an animal around? – we can look at the tracks and scats.
See if the Joey Scouts can identify the animal that matches a particular track.
Divide Joey Scouts into small groups and with a Leader and parents follow the tracks and try
and find the animal.
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An Eastern Grey Kangaroo
A Koala
A Wombat
A Brushtail Possum
A Bandicoot
An Echidna
Eastern Grey Kangaroo
http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/plantsanimals/kangaroosandwallabies.htm
Kangaroos and wallabies are marsupials that belong to a small group of animals called macropods.
They are only found naturally in Australia and Papua New Guinea. Most macropods have hind legs
larger than their forelimbs, large hind feet, and long muscular tails which they use for balance. The
word macropod actually means 'big foot'. Kangaroos and wallabies are most active at night, dusk and
dawn.
Kangaroos and wallabies once roamed Australia practically undisturbed by predators. The arrival of
Aboriginal people, between 40,000 and 60,000 years ago, had an impact on kangaroos and wallabies,
through hunting and through frequent burning of habitat vegetation. The dingo, which arrived about
3,500 years ago, became a major kangaroo predator.
However, the arrival of European settlers had the greatest effect on native animals, including
kangaroos. European livestock have competed with kangaroos for pasture, and introduced species
such as foxes, cats and dogs have preyed on native fauna. Different bushfire patterns have also had a
great impact on kangaroo habitat.
Two centuries ago there were 21 species of macropod in NSW - now there are only 15. The smallest
species, and those with special habitat requirements and restricted ranges, have suffered the most both from predators and from the destruction of their habitats. A number of species of kangaroo and
wallaby are listed as threatened in NSW
Koala
http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/plantsanimals/thekoala.htm
Despite being called 'koala bears' for many years, koalas are actually marsupials. Bears give birth to
well-developed young. Newborn koalas, however, are tiny enough to fit on your thumbnail. They are
raised in their mother's pouch.
Koalas are found between south-eastern South Australia and Queensland, but only where enough
suitable trees have been left. The largest koalas weigh over 10 kilograms and are found in Victoria,
while the smallest live in North Queensland and weigh only 5.5 kilograms. Koalas live for between 10
and 20 years.
A koala eats about half a kilogram of leaves each day. Koalas are fussy eaters, choosing most of their
food from a few varieties of eucalypt. Around Sydney, red gums and mahoganies are their most
favoured trees.
Trees help protect koalas from predators and harsh weather, but most importantly they provide them
with food. Koalas prefer forests growing in better soils, and most of these forests have been chopped
down for agriculture and housing. This has left many koalas living in small, isolated patches of poor
quality forest.
If a particular patch of forest is fully occupied and they have to leave the area, young koalas may have
to cross open spaces, including roads. They can be run over by cars, and many are attacked by dogs
lack of suitable food and the stress of living in a fragmented environment may also make them more
susceptible to disease.
Koalas have been declared a vulnerable species in NSW.
Wombat
http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/publications?id=2490
There are three species of wombat: the common (Vombatus ursinus), the southern hairy-nosed
(Lasiorhinus latifrons) and the northern hairy-nosed (Lasiorhinus kreffti).
Wombats are heavily built animals with a broad head and short legs. They have stong claws to dig
their burrows where they live most of the time.
The largest of the three wombats, the northern hairy-nosed wombat can weigh up to 40 kg and be
more than one metre long.
Despite their appearance, wombats can move fast – up to 40 km/h over a short distance! They are also
able to survive long harsh droughts which are fatal to other animals.
Digging burrows requires enormous effort. Energy and water are conserved by sleeping for up to 18
hours a day in their burrows. They are almost totally nocturnal and spend an average of only six hours
above ground in dry seasons and two hours in wet seasons.
Wombats are found in all states of Australia except the Northern Territory. The common wombat
exists in large numbers, but in 2005 there were only 115 northern hairy-nosed wombats in just one
population at Epping Forest National Park in Queensland.
Habitat loss and change, drought and competition with cattle, sheep and rabbits for food have
contributed to the decline of the northern hairy-nosed wombat
The northern hairy-nosed wombat is the second most endangered mammal in Australia, after Gilbert’s
Potoroo in Western Australia.
Brushtail Possum
http://www.faunanet.gov.au/wos/factfile.cfm?Fact_ID=302
The Common Brushtail Possum is probably the best known of the possums in Sydney because it has
adapted to urban living and often comes into contact with people. It is nocturnal and, during the day,
retreats to a hollow log, branch, tree trunk or any dark area, even inside house roofs.
In the wild, its diet consists of leaves, blossoms and fruits, but in suburbia it will eat almost anything.
It is a social animal, and remains in contact with its group through sounds and scents. At times,
particularly during the breeding season, it makes piercing screeches in the middle of the night to
establish territories and warn of danger.
The Common Brushtail Possum was introduced to New Zealand in the 1830s where it has now
become a pest species. In Australia, it is a protected species and its main predators include the
dingoes, pythons, foxes and cats.
Bandicoot
http://www.pittwater.nsw.gov.au/environment/plants__and__animals/native_animals/all_abo
ut_bandicoots?SQ_DESIGN_NAME=printer_friendly
Bandicoots were once abundant in the backyards of suburban Sydney, but like many other native
mammals, they have been declining in numbers for a variety of reasons.
The northern beaches from Manly to Palm Beach are one of the last strongholds for bandicoots in the
Sydney region. Significant populations of Long-nosed Bandicoots (Perameles nasuta) still exist in the
Pittwater area. The endangered Southern Brown (Isoodon obeselus) and Northern Brown (Isoodon
macrourus) bandicoots are rarer and have only been recorded in the Ingleside area.
Small conical holes in your lawn may be the only sign that you have bandicoots visiting your garden.
Some people are fortunate enough to see these busy creatures at night or hear their squeals and
grunting while they are searching for food. Bandicoots long snouts give them a keen sense of smell to
sniff out their prey.
Pittwater still retains significant populations of bandicoots in the Sydney region, but numbers are
declining. Some of the ongoing threats to bandicoots include:
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Habitat removal and fragmentation by development
Predation by domestic pets and feral animals such as foxes
Road casualties
Without bandicoots and other ground dwelling fauna, the health of our bush land is highly vulnerable.
These small animals can carry beneficial bacteria and fungi around on their bodies. This bacteria and
fungi can act as antibiotics for plants, promote plant growth and germination which play an important
link in maintaining healthy bush land.
Bandicoots also assist in stimulating natural regeneration by turning over the soil and creating
disturbance, acting as a trigger for regeneration of native plants. Our bush land needs native fauna to
continue to have a viable future!
Echidna
http://faunanet.gov.au/wos/factfile.cfm?Fact_ID=296
The Short-beaked Echidna is the only species of echidna in Australia and is easily recognised by its
sharp spines, short legs and long snout. Its closest relative, the much larger Long-beaked Echidna
(Zaglossus bruijni), is from New Guinea.
Using its pointed snout and sharp claws, the Short-beaked Echidna breaks into ant and termite nests
and catches its prey by flicking its long sticky tongue in and out. It also catches a lot of dirt in the
process and this is expelled in the droppings.
Like the Platypus, the Short-beaked Echidna is an egg-laying mammal or monotreme and lays one
egg at a time. The eggs hatch after about 10 days and the young, emerge blind and hairless. Clinging
to hairs inside the mother's pouch, the young echidna suckles for two or three months. Once it
develops spines and becomes too prickly, the mother removes it from her pouch and builds a burrow
for it. It continues to suckle for the next six months.
The Short-beaked Echidna has few natural enemies, but it may be killed by cars, dogs, foxes and
occasionally goannas, and cats may take the young. Although it is found all over Australia, it is not as
common in Sydney as it once was.