There is a total of 3 top mammal groups in Australia, one noteworthy group of these mammals are marsupials.
Marsupials are a distinct group of mammals.
Marsupials being one of the 3 top mammal groups in Australia are a type of animal which exhibit some fascinating and captivating features which include the distinctive characteristic of carrying their young in a pouch. There is other 300 species of mammals, one-third live in South America and the remaining two-thirds come from Australia.
Currently in Australia there is a number of iconic examples of these animals which are koalas, possums, wombat, kangaroo, wallabies and greater gliders, to name but a few.
Geologically speaking the reason that marsupials are popular and are a dominant species particularly in Australia; exhibiting some of the most breath-taking species found anywhere in the world is because Australia was isolated from the rest of the world for a very long time.
This meant there was less competition from placental mammals which is the 2nd group of mammals such as the Dingo which is currently Australia’s largest land predator.
The Dingo is a wild dog species that plays a crucial role in the ecosystem of Australia.
The Dingo is native to Australia and is Australia’s No: 1 top land
predator. What this means is that the Dingo is at the top of the food
chain and has no predators above it. They have no other animals trying to kill it for food.
The Dingo plays a very important role in keeping the ecological system in balance according to the Queensland Environment Department.
The Dingo is the only native animal within Australia which is not
protected, unless in a National Park such as Fraser Island. They are currently under the International Union of Nature Conservation’s Red List of Threatened Species classified as vulnerable to extinction and need our help to survive so that they can have a wider range of protection. They help keep Australia clean and protected from feral animals.
Dingoes are found throughout major states within Australia excluding Tasmania, the types of Dingoes will vary from state to state with 1 prominent feature being the different coloured coat and markings, these colours vary across different landscapes within Australia.
A Dingo does not bark but howls, this is part of their communication
and allows them to keep in touch with other Dingoes, especially
when finding their way back to the pack.
Dingoes need to be treated differently to Dogs, which means you
should not approach a wild Dingo like you would approach a Dog,
you must proceed with high caution.
Did you know that the longest man-made fence in the world was made in
Australia called “The Dingo Fence” which joins the states of SA, NT and
WA together. It was made in order to effectively keep Dingo populations
down and stop them from harming live stock during the time.
You will find Dingoes on the mainland of Australia.
They prefer woodlands and grassland plains that reach to the edge of forests.
But generally they will follow areas which they can access water
such as a watering hole.
The reason we do not see Dingoes as common as other animals within Australia
such as the Kangaroo is because the Dingo is in a vulnerable state and their
survival depends on us. Which means they may soon become extinct if they are
continuously treated without any care or understanding.
Dingoes have bushy tails, they are not like Dogs, a Dingo has wild
instincts which cannot be trained as easily as a Dog in comparison.
Dingoes breed during the winter time within Australia, which is in
the months of June, July and August. The litter usually produces
between 2-6 pups and are fully grown when they are about 7
months old.
For a very long time now Dingoes have been misunderstood. This
misunderstanding about Dingoes has caused them to get a very bad
reputation which has caused them to be killed without any justice.
A Dingo Pack consists of up to 10 Dingoes which are usually made up
of family members to form a close knit group, that are cooperative
when hunting, playing and roaming great distances.
Not only do Dingoes hunt in Packs but often young males will hunt
on their own. They eat reptiles such as snake if food is scarce, but
they often like to eat rabbits, birds and mammals such as small
kangaroos. Dingoes are not fussy eaters.
Other examples of placenta mammals are whales, lions, elephants, tigers and rabbits.
Last but not least is the 3rd group of mammals called monotreme. Monotreme mammals such as the Platypus and Echidna lay eggs, this is what makes them different from other mammals. This means because they lay eggs they do not exhibit any teats, the milk for their young comes from the many pores that are produced from the belly of the female. These 2 animals are examples of monotreme mammals from Australia.
Over the past 200 years marsupials in Australia have declined at a high rate and have suffered more loss than mammals worldwide. Making up at least 17 extinctions already which include the well-known Tasmanian Tiger. Shockingly enough as this sounds, that makes Australia the top leading country for animal extinctions in the world.
Deforestation is the leading cause of extinctions of wildlife in Australia. Green Peace estimate that there is 50 million native animals being killed in Queensland and NSW every year due to this. What does that look like you ask? 1 native animal in Australia is dying every second, every day and every year. This puts Australians at the same level as the Amazon. Once all our trees and native wildlife are gone, will Australia still be the lucky country? I don’t think so.
The government needs to be made accountable for the destruction of our precious native wildlife, nature and trees. They need to live up to their promise of “no new extinctions.”
If change isn’t actioned immediately and soon, we could lose many more. What would Australia be like without Koalas and many of our most iconic animals such as the Platypus, the Wombat, Wallabies and the Possum? Not so lucky anymore!
What about Australian Birds?, we will cover this in another blog. So stay tuned or in the meantime read our recent article on Brolgas in NSW and QLD!
It is crucial to keep the conversation going by taking immediate action to preserve the natural habitats of these marsupials to prevent further declines. Through art, the struggles of these animals can be brought to light, inspiring others to join in conservation efforts. The connection between art and wildlife protection can serve as a powerful tool in raising awareness and encouraging action. By sharing the beauty of these creatures through social media platforms with hashtags like #art, #climatechange, #EndNativeForestLogging
and #marsupials, individuals can engage in conversations with fellow wildlife enthusiasts and art lovers.
You can always turn a negative into a positive at any moment the universe is conspiring to bring you closer to happiness. Like bringing awareness to the Australian wildlife that are currently getting their homes destroyed and not many people are knowing about it and the devastating effects that are currently taking place in Australia to the destruction of their habitat? There’s still time to help them! The most unique animals in Australia, they need our help!
Lets join together to help them by sharing this article far and wide.
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