Most of us first learn about a place called Australia through it’s wonderful animals. K is for kangaroo and E is for emu. W is for wombat and they all live in a faraway place near the bottom of the earth.
Only later do you get to hear about the Aborigines and the British settlers who were actually convicts. You get to see a movie like “Priscilla Queen of the Desert” and hear about ” throwing shrimps on the barbie”. The animals are so exotic and unusual though that they always steal the limelight.
So why does Australia have so many unusual animals? The answer is actually simple. Charles Darwin already answered it when he visited the Galapagos islands. It is because Australia is an island. It is a secluded landmass with no immigration of animals from other parts of the world.
Sea levels were much lower than today. Animals could make their way from the Malay Archipelago. Australia’s coast also stretched further into the Timor Sea. It is thought that the Aborigines originally reached Australia from these routes. Animals usually show people the way into new environments.
Australia also used to be part of Asia. Continental drift and raising sea levels caused the continent/island of Australia to become “lost” and the animals and the people on the land were in a way stuck where they were. Nature has a very clear rule about what to do in such a case. It is to adapt or to die. That is exactly what the animals did. They slowly started to adapt to the environment that they live in.
The cute koala has very strong claw-like paws. This helps him to cling to the eucalyptus trees that they eat the leaves from. The leaves are poisonous for other animals but the koala’s digestive system has adapted to it. The rest of the time the koalas just laze about, the only thing you really can do in extreme heat.
The kangaroo’s strong tail and developed hind legs helps him to hop for over the flat desert plains. They can cover long distances on hot days using less energy than walking.
The wombat is a marsupial with soft brown fur and a large nose. Their stocky bodies and long sharp claws make them very good at tunneling and they easily plow through fields. They have adapted to the hot weather by being nocturnal.
Emus have coarse feathers that looks more like matted hair to help them cope with the extreme changes in the weather. They can live in the dry plains, tropical woodlands and the snowfields. They cannot fly but run very fast. If they are attacked at close quarters, they give a powerful kick with their strong legs.
The platypus are found in the waterways of Eastern Australia. They also shelter during the hot day in burrows dug in the stream banks. From dusk to dawn they feed and is very well adapted to a life in the water. It’s flattened torpedo-like body, waterproof fur and strong limbs are used for swimming as well as digging. Each ear is housed in a small groove with a small eye. The platypus hardly see, hear or smell when it is underwater. They have a unique electromechanical system of electro-receptors and touch receptors to help them navigate when they are submerged.
So the reason why Australia have so many unusual animals is that that they were isolated on an island. They were forced to adapt to their surroundings. I am sure that you will agree with me that they have done a very good job.
