[Pic of Koala (14k) ]

The Koala is a cuddly stubby little animal with lots of grey fur, a big black nose and large fluffy ears. Its got long arms and short legs with very sharp claws which it uses to cling onto trees and branches. Its hardly got a tail.

It is sometimes called a Koala Bear but it is not a bear at all. Its closest relative is the Wombat.

The Koala lives in eucalyptus trees. It only comes down from the safety of a tree when it wants to move to another tree.

The koala wedges itself in a fork of a tree and sleeps during most of the day (as much as 18 hours a day). It is usually active in the night.

It is a very fussy eater. It only eats certain types of eucalyptus leaves. The Koala gets most of the water it needs from the leaves it eats and hardly ever drinks water.

It is a marsupial mammal. The female Koala carries its baby in its pouch or on its back. It has one baby at a time.


A male kangaroo is called a boomer
A female is called a flyer
A baby is called a joey 

HOW THE KANGAROO GOT ITS NAME

When European explorers first saw these strange hopping animals they asked a native Australian (aborigine) what they were called.

He replied "kangaroo" meaning "I don't understand" your question.

The explorers thought this was the animal's name. And that's how the kangaroo got its name.

A Kangaroo is a marsupial mammal. It is a macropod which means "big foot".

There are over 40 different types (species) of Kangaroo. The smaller ones are usually called Wallabies.

The largest is the Red Kangaroo. It stands taller than a man and can weigh 85 kgs. It is the largest marsupial in the world.

The Kangaroo moves by hopping on its powerful hind legs. It uses its thick long tail to balance its body while hopping. A kangaroo can hop at up to 60kmh (40mph).

It can also leap over obstacles up to 3m (10ft) high.

Because of the unusual shape of its legs and its bulky tail a kangaroo can't walk or move backwards very easily.

The kangaroo usually rests in the shade during the day and comes out to eat in the late afternoon and night when its much cooler.

It eats mostly grass.

It needs very little water to survive. It can survive without drinking for months.

A kangaroo carries its baby in its pouch. The baby is born really tiny and crawls into its mother's pouch. The baby lives in its mother's pouch till its quite large. Even when its quite large it still drinks milk from a teat in its mother's pouch.

It sometimes jumps into its mother's pouch head first when frightened.

The kangaroo fights by attacking its opponent with its front paws (which have sharp claws) or by kicking them with its powerful hind legs.

The Emu is a large flightless bird. It is found only in Australia.

It is the second largest bird in the world (the ostrich is bigger). It is as tall as a man.

It has a long neck and small head and very long legs. It can run very fast and can also swim.

The male emu incubates the eggs and takes care of the chicks once they are hatched.

It is a very curious animal and will come to explore what's going on.

It normally lives in large flocks in grass plains and open forests.

It eats grass, insects, fruit and seeds.

They make funny grunting noises and the female also makes a booming noise.

It is an egg laying marsupial called a monotreme.

An echidna is about 50 cm (20 inches) long and it is dome-shaped. It has short sharp spikes covering its body (like a porcupine). It has a short pointy snout and a sticky tongue with which it catches ants and termites. It has no teeth. The echidna has very sharp claws too and can burrow underground very quickly. An echidna has short stubby feet and waddles when it walks.

When it gets frightened it raises its spikes to defend itself and trys to dig itself into the ground.

You can see how the echidna is trying to hide in my pic.

My dog Sage once tried to catch an Echidna and hurt his tongue.