Oz Fauna

Oz critters - all those unique animals that Oz is so famous for.

Many of the critters in Oz are unique, because of the unique climatic conditions here, and the isolation of the continent from others for millions of years, which prevented the spread of creatures from other countries.

Some of the better known Ausimals:

Critter What it is

Koalas The equally best known animal along with roodles. These are sleepy, furry, gum leaf eating and tree inhabiting teddy bear like marsupials, which like to sleep during the day and eat at night. They pack a mean set of claws if you get too close, but rely mainly on their trees as defence.

Kangaroos These can travel great distances because of their ability to use their large tails in sync with their rear legs to bounce around three meters per hop. They are also marsupial, come in may sizes and are grey to red in colour.

Wombats Bomwats are like little furry barrels on legs. They live in self dug burrows and are also nocturnal and usually silent. They can run quite fast if pressed.

Platypus These are a cross between a beaver and a duck. They live in the water and have poisonous claws on their webbed feet for defence. They have a large bill for finding food in the mud at the bottom of river pools and are rarely seen.

Possums Furry tree dwellers with long tails, these are good at going thud in the night in urban roof spaces. They also have a mean set of claws, but can be quite friendly.

Gliders Similar to possums, but these have a large section of skin between their front and rear legs, which they use like a pair of wings when jumping between trees.

Kookaburras A largish bird that eats small snakes and has a laughter like call.

Cockatoos A large bird that comes in white or sometimes black and has a large yellow comb on it's head that it can raise or lower. These are very loud at 5am in the morning, and cause a lot of damage to phone lines, crops, street lights, and so on. A smaller and less destructive version of these is the Galah.

Magpie A pigeon sized bird that is black and white coloured and has a sharp black beak. These are best known for swooping (dive bomb attacking) people and anything else that gets too close to their nest trees.

Dropbears A mutant variation of a Koala, these drop out of trees and attack tourists.

Hoopsnakes Another native animal mutation, these are snakes that bite their tail to form a hoop, allowing them to roll down hills at great speed. These also attack tourists.

Many Australian animals are mammals, which are animals whose young are born live and then suckled. Kangaroos are a class of mammals known as marsupials, which means that the young are raised in the mother's pouch.