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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 105 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
Special Topics
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Australia
| Australia has 2 species of crocodile. One is the freshwater crocodile, can you name the other? | Australian Wildlife
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Estuarine. The Estuarine Crocodile (also known as the Saltwater) is the world's largest living reptile. Although seen in the open ocean, this species is mostly estuarine. The Freshwater Crocodiles are smaller and prefer creeks and pools.
Brolga. Famous for its dramatic and graceful dancing during mating season. Flocks are made up of family groups, each led by a male.
Jabiru. This bird is Australia's only stork. Pairs for life. A large area of wetland is needed to support 1 pair.
Red Kangaroo. The Red Kangaroo is the largest living marsupial and dominates the fauna of the arid regions of Australia. Males are usually red whilst the females may be grey, red or even a bluish grey leading to the description as 'blue fliers'.
Eucalyptus. Because the Koala feeds exclusively on the leaves of the eucalypts which are low in energy and difficult to digest, the Koala spends much of its daylight hours asleep in the fork of a tree.
Echidna. The Echidna's spikes are used as protection from predators. Its short sturdy legs and strong claws enable it to burrow beneath the soil as well as a tool for searching out its food of termites and ants.
Emu and Kangaroo. The reason that these 2 animals were chosen is because neither of them can walk backwards. Hence on the Coat of Arms they are both facing each other depicting a nation that ONLY goes forwards and never backwards.
| This unique animal is a marsupial with long pointed finely-furred ears. It is usually greyish in colour with a bluish tinge and is white underneath. It has a long muzzle and a white tip on its tail. What Australian animal am I talking about? | Great Australian Fauna
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Bilby. The bilby is found in the desert and is very rare. The bilby lives in a burrow to help keep it cool. The bilby has an excellent sense of smell and hearing. When it sleeps it does not lie down, but squats on its hind legs tucking its muzzle between its forelegs. The long ears are then folded forward over its eyes. Its diet consists mainly of insects, mice, lizards and some plant matter. The bilby is known as the Australian Easter bunny, which helps with the advertisement of it being an endangered species.
| This unique animal is a marsupial with dense, soft, wooly fur. It is usually greyish brown on the back and paler underneath. It has a long curled muscular tail that has a white tip. What Australian animal am I talking about? | Great Australian Fauna
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Ringtail Possum. The ringtail possum is found on the east coast regions of Australia and Tasmania. They are found in rainforest, heathland and tea tree scrub. Their diet consists of eucalyptus leaves, flowers, buds, fruit and sap. They spend their entire lives in the trees, where their tails act like a fifth limb. The possum was depicted on the 1 cent coin.
| This unique animal is a large flightless bird. It has long droopy feathers that are dark brown to grey brown in colour. It has three large toes. What Australian animal am I talking about? | Great Australian Fauna
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Emu. The emu is found throughout Australia in areas of rainforest and cleared land. An emu's nest is shallow and about 1 metre across. It is built by the male and lined with grass and twigs. Their diet consists of seeds, fruit, insects, small rodents and lizards. There has even been a report of an emu drinking the contents of a can of paint, then swallowing the tin. The female lays 9 to 11 large, olive green eggs and early settlers made omelettes from them. One egg would feed several people, but it contained so much oil that it had to be broken into a basin and left overnight so the oil could be skimmed off before cooking. The emu is depicted on the 50 cent coin as part of the Australian Coat-of-Arms.
| This unique animal is an extinct marsupial. It had the head of a wolf and the stripes of a tiger. It had a very flexible and strong jaw and has a rear opening pouch. What Australian animal am I talking about? | Great Australian Fauna
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The Tasmanian Tiger. Also known as the thylacine, the Tasmanian tigers were widespread throughout Australia until 3000 years ago when they were only found in Tasmania. Their diet consisted of kangaroos, wallabies, ground birds and sheep. Both the female and male had a pouch, but the male's was for protection of the genitals. It was the largest modern carnivorous marsupial and became extinct in 1936. Some people believe dingos were responsible for their demise on the mainland. The last known specimen died in a Hobart zoo.
| This unique animal is a marsupial with short powerful legs and strong front claws. It has sharp teeth and is usually grey in colour. This animal resembles a small bear and a badger. What Australian animal am I talking about? | Great Australian Fauna
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Wombat . Wombats are found on the border of Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, and all over South Australia and Tasmania. It lives in burrows in the coastal hills and wooded areas. A wombat can dig burrows as fast as a human can dig a hole with a spade. If a wombat is pursued by a predator, it will run to its burrow and present its rump to the intruder. The thick skin and absence of the tail means there is no way of inflicting injury. It will further deter its attacker by kicking its legs. There are only 3 species of wombat left.-the northern and southern hariy-nosed wombat and the common wombat. The northern hairy-nosed wombat is the most endangered animal in Australia and only exists in a zoo.
| This unique animal is a marsupial and is grey to reddish brown in colour. It has 8 white stripes running across its back. It has a long pointed snout, a sticky tongue and a long bushy tail. What Australian animal am I talking about? | Great Australian Fauna
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Numbat . The numbat is found only in eucalypt forests of southwest Western Australia. Its diet consists of termites, ants, grubs and earthworms. Although the numbat is a marsupial, it has no pouch. It may eat up to 20,000 termites in a day. A numbat has 52 teeth, among the greatest number in any land mammal, but it rarely chews its food.
| This unique animal is one of the largest reptiles in the world. It has a very muscular tail and webbed feet with 3 claws to assist with swimming. It is found in the northern parts of Australia. What Australian animal am I talking about? | Great Australian Fauna
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Salt Water Crocodile. Saltwater crocodiles are found in northern Australia. They like to live in tidal and freshwater rivers, swamps and around the coasts. Its diet consists of turtles, fish, birds, reptiles, carrion and mammals. A saltwater croc will even eat a human, if given the chance. Unfortunately, 90 per cent of the hatchlings can be lost each year on their journey from the nest to the ocean.
| This unique animal is the largest member of the kingfisher family. The top of the head, back, wings and tail are brownish in colour and the underside is usually greyish white. It has pale blue patches on the wings. It has a large head, short neck and is known for its laughing calls. What Australian animal am I talking about? | Great Australian Fauna
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Kookaburra . Kookaburras are found throughout Australia, but are common along the eastern side. Its diet consists of insects, invertebrates and small animals such as rodents, snakes and birds. Kookaburras defend their territory with a loud laughter-like sound by family members.
| This unique animal is one of the world's most bizarre looking lizards. It is covered in spines and can change colour. It has a short, sticky tongue with a notched tip to pick up ants. What Australian animal am I talking about? | Great Australian Fauna
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Thorny Devil. The thorny devil is found in central Australia in the sand and spinifex desert regions, where it can withstand temperatures of up to 50 degrees celsius. In a single meal, the thorny devil can eat between 600 and 3000 ants. It eats them one at a time with its sticky tongue, at a rate of up to 45 a minute. When it lies in damp sand, water soaks into the skin, which travels to the mouth via small capillaries.
| This unique animal is a marsupial. It has a layer of thin furred skin, which stretches from the wrist to the ankle of the hind limb enabling it to glide. It is grey in colour. What Australian animal am I talking about? | Great Australian Fauna
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Sugar Glider . The sugar glider is found in Tasmania and the north and east forests of Australia. The sugar glider's nest is foul-smelling because it urinates on the leaves to keep it damp. The sugar glider's name came from early bushman who found they liked sweet things and their ability to glide between trees. Its diet consists of gum, sap, nectar, pollen and insects and their larvae. The sugar glider can glide up to 50 metres between trees and they use their tails like a rudder to change direction.
| This unique animal is the largest marsupial, standing taller than a human. The male is of a reddish colour and the female is a grey colour. It has erect ears, which move to detect sound. It has a metre long and very strong tail used when hopping at their fast speeds. What Australian animal am I talking about? | Great Australian Fauna
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Red Kangaroo. The red kangaroo is found in the desert and semi-desert regions of Australia. To cope with the high temperatures, it pants and licks its forearms. A group of red kangaroos usually consists of a dominant male, a number of females and many young. Their diet consists of grass and leaves. The red kangaroo can reach speeds of up to 65kph, can jump over high fences and can reach more than 12 metres in a single leap. The kangaroo is depicted on the one dollar coin and also on the 50 cent coin as part of the Australian Coat-of-Arms.
| This unique animal is a wild horse. They're of a wide range of colours including brown, grey, chestnut or cream. They generally have small bodies with big heads and short necks. The tail and mane are long and thick. What Australian animal am I talking about? | Great Australian Fauna
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Brumby . The brumby is found throughout the outback areas of Queensland, Northern Territory, Western Australia, South Australia and the Snowy Mountains. Brumbies are not native to Australia, as they came with the first fleet, where many either escaped or were turned loose following mechanisation on farms. Only the toughest survived the harsh conditions of the bush. Brumby populations can increase up to 25 per cent in a single year if conditions are favourable.
| This unique animal is one of Australia's largest lizards. It has a forked tongue, is dark brown to black in colour and has brown, yellow or white spots. It has a very strong tail, stout limbs and sharp claws. What Australian animal am I talking about? | Great Australian Fauna
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Goanna . The goanna is found throughout the mainland of Australia except in the colder southern regions. It is most commonly found in sandy areas, but is found in most habitats. In the desert, it digs beneath the sand to shelter, but in the forests, it makes a home in a hollow log or under a mound of leaf litter. A goanna's diet consists of invertebrates, lizards, snakes, eggs and carrion. When males fight, often to mate with a female, they stand erect on their tails and grasp each other with their powerful forelimbs. The battle involves biting, scratching and hissing and continues until one manages to unbalance the other. In Western Australia, it is known as the racehorse because of the high speed it can run.
| This unique animal is a noisy and conspicuous bird. It is white and has a yellow crest. What Australian animal am I talking about? | Great Australian Fauna
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Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo. The cockatoo is found in eastern Australia and Tasmania, living in all types of forests and woodlands. Their diet consists of seeds, roots, bulbs, nuts, insects and their larvae. When a flock is feeding, a couple of members of the flock keep lookout for any danger and will make a loud screech to warn the others. The yellow crest is a signal of its state of mind. The crest is raised to show fear, aggression and sexual arousal. The oldest captive cockatoo, named Cocky, lived to the age of 82.
| This unique animal is a marsupial, which looks like a small bear. It has dark fur, short limbs and a stumpy tail. It has a white patch on the throat and various others on the shoulder, rump and tail. It has pink ears and very dark eyes. What Australian animal am I talking about? | Great Australian Fauna
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The Tasmanian Devil. The Tasmanian devil is only found in Tasmania and dwells in forests and coastal scrub. The Tasmanian devil is a placid shy animal and likes to live alone, but will turn aggressive when food is involved. Tasmanian devils are scavengers and like to eat dead animals, but they will kill their own prey when necessary. Because they have a very powerful jaw, they can eat bone, allowing them to eat every little bit of the animal, leaving nothing to pollute the environment. They have been known to even eat rubber boots and gloves, cotton socks and plastic. When Tasmanian devils try to fight off other animals, they scream very loudly. Their screaming and fierce looks gave them their 'devil' name.
| This unique animal is a very venomous spider. It is a bluish black colour, hairy and solidly-built. When the spider is threatened it rears up on its back legs, raising its front legs and fangs in an aggressive posture. What Australian animal am I talking about? | Great Australian Fauna
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Sydney Funnel-Web. The Sydney funnel-web spider is found in New South Wales, on the Great Dividing Range and southeast Victoria. They are found in places with high humidity and low temperatures such as gardens where they build flat funnel-shaped burrows made of silk. The SFWS diet consists of beetles, insect larvae, snails, millipedes and occasionally skinks and frogs. As it hunts for prey at night, it waits at the entrance of the burrow for the prey and it will grab a passing beetle or cockroach. It will then crunch its prey to death with its huge jaws and will inject a paralysing venom, which regularly killed people before a vaccine was developed. The Sydney funnel-web spider is one of the most venomous spiders in the world. The fangs of the spider are powerful enough to penetrate a fingernail.
| This unique animal is a marsupial. It is grey in colour, has a black nose, thick wooly fur, thick stocky legs and lives in trees. What Australian animal am I talking about? | Great Australian Fauna
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Koala . Koalas are found on the eastern coasts of Australia and they live in gum trees. The koala likes to move around just after sunset, as day times are usually spent sleeping in the fork of a tree. The name koala comes from the Aboriginal saying that means 'no drink', as the koala obtains enough moisture from the eucalyptus leaves that it eats. When koalas reproduce, the joey is born five weeks after conception and is blind, hairless and less then an inch long. At the ago of one, it feeds on a specialised form of droppings produced by the mother. This helps the joey make the transition from the milk to the leaves and to allow the mother to pass on specific microorganisms used to break down the poison from the eucalyptus leaves. Koalas are an endangered species and there are less than 100 000 left. Approximately 4000 are being killed each year due to cars and dogs. Koalas are now protected by law.
| This unique animal is a lizard that loves to bask in the sun. It has a long, slim tail and is covered by spiny scales. It has a scaly ruff on its neck and shoulders, which is used as a defence mechanism. What Australian animal am I talking about? | Great Australian Fauna
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Frilled-Neck Lizard. The frilled-neck lizard is found in northern Australia. They are tree dwellers, but on the ground they are fast-moving as they run upright on their hind legs. Their diet consists of insects, spiders and small mammals. As a defence, it will raise its frill and the tail will become erect, making the lizard appear larger and more intimidating. It will also stand upright on its hind legs, hiss and open its yellow mouth really wide. The frilled-neck lizard is the reptile emblem of Australia and was depicted on the 2 cent coin.
| This unique animal is a pink and grey bird. The male has brown eyes and the female has pink eyes. It has dark grey feathers with pink underneath. It also has a crest. What Australian animal am I talking about? | Great Australian Fauna
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Galah. The galah is found all over Australia but is rare in Tasmania. Galahs nest in the hollow of a large tree where they strip off the bark around the nesting area, leaving the wood so smooth that reptiles are unable to climb up to reach the eggs. Their diet consists of seeds, grains, nuts, berries, bulbs, roots, leaf buds, blossoms and wheat shoots. The galah is considered a pest by farmers, as they eat the crops. The galah is also known as the rosy-headed cockatoo.
| This unique animal is a wild dog. It doesn't bark but howls. It varies in colour, from dark brown to tan, depending on where it lives. It has permanently pricked up ears and a white tip on its tail. What Australian animal am I talking about? | Great Australian Fauna
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Dingo . The dingo is found all over Australia except Tasmania. The dingo was brought to Australia as a domestic dog by the Aborigines and they used them like a hot water bottle to keep themselves warm at night. The dingo does not live in packs, as they like to hunt alone, in pairs or small family groups. The dingo is a tireless hunter and will cross large expanses of desert and open bush in search of prey. Their diet includes rabbits, small marsupials, kangaroos, some domestic stock, reptiles and birds. In some rare cases the dingo is black.
| This unique animal is a large flightless bird with black feathers. It has bare patches of bright red and blue skin on the neck and has two fleshy flaps called wattles. It also has a bony crest on top of its head. What Australian animal am I talking about? | Great Australian Fauna
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Cassowary. The cassowary is found in tropical rainforests along the northeastern coast of Queensland. Their diet consists of fallen fruit, seeds, berries, insects and small vertebrates. They can run at very high speeds and can swim across rivers and small lakes. The male cassowary incubates the eggs and cares for the chicks when they hatch.
| This unique animal is a mammal, which has a spiny body and a long snout. It has a long sticky tongue to pick up ants and termites. The male has a venom gland on the hind feet but it does not function. What Australian animal am I talking about? | Great Australian Fauna
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Echidna. Echidnas are found in grassy and woodland areas with soft soil. They can live in habitats ranging from snow to deserts. If the weather is wet or cold, the echidna will go into a state of torpor and can go without food in that time for 10 to 12 days. When an echidna is scared, it will roll into a ball and reveal only spines. Using its hind legs, it can tip over stones that weigh twice as much as it does. The echidna is depicted on the 5 cent coin.
| This unique mammal has a bird-like bill. It has webbed front feet and the male has poisonous spurs on the hind feet. It has three layers of thick fur with excellent water resistance and can live in the water and on land. What Australian animal am I talking about? | Great Australian Fauna
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Platypus . Platypus' are found in flowing streams, rivers and some lakes in eastern Australia. The unique fur of the platypus allows it to live in very cold mountain streams to warm tropical rainforests. It lives in a tunnel in the bank, for nesting, which can reach up to 20 metres in length. Although most of their time is spent in he water, they can walk on land. However, when it walks on land it folds back the webs of the front feet and walks on its knuckles. A Platypus feeds on insect larvae, water snails and small crustaceans. Because its eyes, ears and nostrils are closed when underwater, it will locate its prey by using its bill. The platypus is depicted on the 20 cent coin.
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