NCE Hinterland Whos Who

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NCE Hinterland Whos Who
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Koala
The Koala prefers to move around neither in
daylight or night, but rather just after sunset.
Usually daytimes are spent asleep in the fork of
a tree, as 80 of its time is spent sleeping.
The baby Joey is born five weeks after
conception, blind, hairless and less than an inch
long. It then crawls into its mothers pouch and
drinks from one of the 2 teats there. The next 6
months, the baby stays in the pouch drinking
milk. During the next period, before being weaned
at around the age of 1, their dietary needs are
supplemented by eating some of the mother's
faeces that supplement the bacteria in its own
caecum (part of the intestine).
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80 of time spent sleeping
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Tawny Frogmouth Owl
From place to place it varies markedly in size
and colour (ranging from grey to dull rufous).
Normally, it has large yellow eyes and a heart
shaped bill. As with all frogmouths, it has a
bristly feathered tuft over its bill and an
extremely long tongue that is forked. It
usually hunts by pouncing from a low perch, such
as a fence post or road sign, on to small
terrestrial animals crossing bare open ground (eg
country roads) at dusk and dawn. The chief prey
are such arthropods as centipedes, spiders,
scorpions and cockroaches, but it also eats
frogs, mice and - occasionally - small birds.
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pounces from a low perch
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Emu
A flightless bird, (Ratite), there is only one
species of Emu, which is the worlds 2nd largest
bird behind the Ostrich. Emus are very mobile
quick runners, (up to 50 kph), running with a
bouncy, swaying motion. Emus are generally
nomadic, with some emus roaming over hundreds of
kilometers.
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the worlds second largest bird
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Sea Turtle
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graceful saltwater reptile
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Red Kangaroo
They normally move in groups ranging from a few
dozen to several hundred individuals, which are
known as Mobs . The makeup of the red kangaroo
mob varies but usually consists of a dominant
male, a number of adult females, and juveniles of
both sexes. Red Kangaroos are able to survive
temperatures in excess of 40C by using shade and
avoiding activity during the day. Red Kangaroos
also concentrate their urine to conserve water
and thus can tolerate severe dehydration. They
regulate their body temperature largely by
panting and licking their forearms.
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stays in shade, avoids activity during the day
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Frilled Neck Lizard
5 step defence plan 1) If it sees danger, it
slowly cringes down onto the ground looking like
a stout stick, relying on its natural body
colours to act as camouflage. 2) If the lizard
feels threatened, it will extend its legs and
open its mouth widely, thus erecting the frill in
a blaze of startling colour. 3) To add to the
bluff, it may hiss and jump towards the threat.
4) If the frill and hissing is not effective,
the frilled lizard menaces "the threat" by
repeatedly lashing its tail on the ground. 5a)
The frilled lizard as a last resort prefers to
run rather than fight by making a sudden turn and
running off, on its hind legs, to the nearest
tree, which it climbs until out of reach. 5b)
But if forced to fight, this lizard can inflict
painful bites with its large canine teeth. Its
fearsome bluff though is no match for its biggest
enemy, feral cats.
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bluffs by hissing and jumping
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Bandicoot
They are nocturnal, foraging for food at night
and during the day living in their leaf and
vegetation lined nests, often in logs, crevices
or scrapped out burrows or tunnels. They are
very solitary animals and will chase other
bandicoots away except in their mating seasons.
When called to fight they use their hind legs and
bite only as a last resort. The bandicoot can
often be heard sniffing at night time whilst
searching for food or issuing shrill whistles and
grunt-like sounds when food is found.
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nocturnal, issues whistles and grunt-like sounds
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Bald Eagle
The bald eagle stands 2 1/2 to 3 feet tall with
an impressive 6 l/2 to 7 1/2-foot wingspan. Its
keen eyesight is eight times more powerful than a
human's. The bright yellow feet of adults are
strong, unfeathered and equipped with long,
sharp, black talons for penetrating and grasping
prey. The powerful, bright yellow, hooked bill is
used for tearing and dismembering prey.
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hooked bill tears and dismembers prey
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Estuarine Crocodile
The feeding strategy of a salt water croc is to
wait close to the water's edge and pounce upon
its victim in the blink of an eye . The usual
prey of younger crocs is smaller animals, such as
fishes and crustaceans. Adults can also attack
and eat larger animals by overpowering and then
drowning them, (the teeth are designed more for
holding), eg fish, turtles, birds, turtles,
reptiles and mammals (dingoes, wallabies) - even
domestic cattle and people. After the prey is
dead, the croc will break the prey up into
smaller pieces by violent flicking of the head to
snap or break bones or twisting and rolling the
body. Larger crocs will also take carrion if
hungry.
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eats carrion if hungry
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The Hairy Nosed Wombat
The northern hairy-nosed wombat is a marsupial,
eats mostly grasses and bears one young per
litter. It is nocturnal, spending the day in a
burrow and coming out at night to feed. It is
completely terrestrial and well equipped with
short, powerful legs and long, strong claws for
digging its large, often complex system of
burrows. The northern hairy-nosed wombat lives
in a harsh climate with very hot summers and long
periods of dry weather. It copes by minimizing
the amount of time spent above ground and
choosing the most comfortable times of night for
excursions (although it will sun itself on winter
afternoons).
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suns itself on winter afternoons