Jan 312023
Australian Animals – Editor’s Blog
EDITOR’S BLOG Topics
 • Slang• Holidays• Food• Odds & Sods
 • Music• Animals• Writers• Daylight Saving
 • Sports• People• Problems• Big Things
 • Charity• Awards• What Is It?• Comments

One of the amazing things about Australia is that we have a huge range of animal life, including marsupials, reptiles and some birds. Some animals are large and furry while others are small and finicky. In this post we look at some of the most popular Australian animals.

Hybernating in Australia

Robin wrote, “We are studying about animals that hybernate. Do Australian bears hybernate like our bears?”

Discovered in the Australian Alps in 1966, the little Mountain Pygmy-possum (Burramys parvus) is the only Australian marsupial that hybernates. They are also the only mammal to live exclusively in alpine and sub-alpine areas of Australia where there is a continuous period of snow cover.

The total population is estimated to be less than 3,000. This is due to loss of habitat in Victoria and New South Wales ski areas.

The Mountain Pygmy-possum weighs only 45 grams and easily fits into the palm of your hand. The Healesville Sanctuary has a research and breeding program to help avoid the probabilty of extinction. An excellent article about this animal is at Australian Department of the Environment.

The Australian Shepherd
Is NOT an Aussie

Jeni from Oregon, USA wrote to us and asked if “dinki di” is pronounced “dinkee-dee” or “dinkee-die”. It’s “dinkee-die”.

It seems she wanted to name her Australian Shepherd Dinki Di, but didn’t know how to say it.

She’s got a bigger problem. An Australian Shepherd is NOT Australian. She’s not alone in that completely understandable, but wrong, assumption.

Blue Merle considered Aussie?

No one knows exactly why this herding breed acquired the name Australian. It may be because so many dogs brought to the American West from Australia in the late 1800s had blue merle coats (mottled patchwork of grey and black).

As a result it’s possible that the word Australian was associated with dogs of that coat colour.

Ghost-eye dog

What’s most noticeable about blue merle dogs is the their eyes. They can have two different coloured eyes, most notably blue eyes. They can even have bicoloured eyes where an eye is half-brown and half-blue.

As you can see, their appearance would certainly stand out from the traditional herding sheepdogs. In fact, it is said that they were called the “ghost-eye dog”.

How did they get to Australia?

It’s believed that the blue merle sheepdog arrived in Australia in the early 1800s with the German immigrants who came to care for the imported Spanish Merino sheep.

The American breeders

The Australian Shepherd breed was developed in America from dogs brought in from Spain as well as Australia. It was thought that those climates best matched the American West and so the dogs would do well.

Australian Shepherds come in a variety of colours, (not just blue merle), with traditional colour eyes. But it’s the blue merle we’ll always favour even if it’s not really Aussie.

The ANKC (Australian National Kennel Council) did not officially recognize the breed until 1994.

The Battery Hen Adoption Project

There’s a wonderful Aussie organisation that helps people adopt production hens before they’re slaughtered.

Hens are deemed unproductive between 16 and 18 months old and become pet food or compost. By law they cannot be sold for human consumption.

The Battery Hen Adoption Project in Queensland gives ex-battery chickens a second chance at life.

They look pretty awful when you first see them. However, with a little care and kindness the feathers grow back and they learn how to act like a real chicken should. And yes, they will also lay lots of eggs for your family as well.

I’m told they are very social and intelligent and make wonderful companion animals.

In England, the Battery Hen Welfare Trust has rescued and re-homed over 90,000 hens. Jamie Oliver is a patron of the Trust. I hope the Battery Hen Adoption Project in Australia becomes just as successful.

Australian Free Range Eggs Are Not So Free

While the European Union has banned barren battery cages throughout its 27 member countries beginning in 2012, Australia continues to allow the inhumane treatment.

Ah, but you say you eat “free range” eggs. You might be surprised to know that almost one third of eggs labelled “free range” are breaking the industry’s own regulations according to figures published by AECL (Australian Egg Corporation Ltd.).

There are even plans in Australia to increase the density hens live in and still be called “free range” eggs. The AECL wants to go from 1,500 hens per hectare to 20,000 hens per hectare.

When does a decent profit turn into old fashioned greed?

For more information

  • Animal Welfare Labels website
    Excellent website helps reduce the confusion and guesswork when trying to read food labels. It’s well worth a visit and your support.

Kangaroo Pets

Brenda J. emailed us asking, “Are kangaroos free to run about in the cities like domestic dogs and cats do? Are they vicious or do people treat them like pets?”

You wouldn’t expect to find deer running around in the streets of New York City. So, no, you’re not going to find kangaroos hopping around downtown Sydney. However, drive out a ways to one of the golf courses, and you may spot a mob of them laying around as if they owned the place.

Australia has a love-hate relationship with kangaroos. The roo appears as an emblem on the Australian Coat of Arms. However, kangaroo

meat is available in grocery stores shelves. The meat is high in protein, low in fat (about 2%).

Brenda, you need to remember that while kangaroos may look cute, they are definitely wild animals. They are not meant to be pets. They have very sharp long claws, powerful hind legs and muscular tail. Leave them alone and they generally won’t bother you.

A few years back, while staying with a friend who was licensed to care for injured animals, I had the pleasure of holding and bottle-feeding a baby swamp wallaby. But when it came to the big testosterone-charged male roo that stood about 8 feet from me, I was afraid. Luckily I was inside watching him through a big window.

Chris cared for quite a lot of animals and had a mob of wild roos that lived on her property. Although she raised many of them by hand, she was the first to warn us they were not pets.

     • Eastern Grey Kangaroos Fighting
When you watch this, remember that your body is not as hard and tough as theirs. They can disembowelled dogs and people when provoked.

Australia Has Flies? Really ?

Brenda J asked, “Why does Australia have so many flies?”

Australia has over 6,000 species of flies: blowflies, fruit flies, hover flies, houseflies, midges (sand flies), and mosquitoes. Some flies bite while others annoy us with their constant presence and maggot offspring. A big introduced pest is the Australian Sheep Blowfly (Lucilia cuprina) – harmful to sheep and costly to our sheep industry.

Yes, we have lots of flies, but I don’t think we really have more flies than anywhere else. It’s just that Aussie flies are pretty aggressive. 

The Aussie Salute

What’s an Aussie salute? It’s also known as the Barcoo salute or the Bush salute. Whatever you call it, you’re doing it when you wave one hand in front of your face over and over to stop aggressive bush flies from getting on your face, and into your nose or mouth.

The bush fly (Musca vetustissima) is the species most responsible for the salute. This is because it’s attracted to bodily fluids (sweat, saliva, blood) and your eyes.

For an example of the Aussie Salute, have a look at this funny YouTube video made by a tourist.

Drop Bears

Emilio asked if I was scared of drop bears. Drop bears are not real.

It is a story told to scare tourists for fun. People have made videos and posted photos online. But they are fake, not real. Fun to look at as long as you know it’s a joke.

In case you were wondering, Australia has no native bears. The koala bear is not a bear. It’s real name is koala, not koala bear. No worries. Lots of adults who do not live in Australia call it a koala bear. We call those people tourists.

From the Past – The Last Camel

1873 … A group of explorers led by Peter Egerton Warburton were looking for a crossing from the Overland Telegraph Line in Alice Springs to Perth, WA. Included in his party were 17 camels.

During this trek, which began 15 April 1873, they were constantly forced to head north to search for water. Being low on provisions, they began eating their camels.

On Christmas Day 1873 the expedition ate its last camel. It was probably necessary, but it could not have been a Christmas they would fondly remember.

Update …
Cathy M. thought some people might think Australia didn’t have camels any more. While the Warburton explorers might have eaten their last camel, it certainly wasn’t Australia’s last.

In 1840 the first camels were brought into Australia from the Canary Islands. 26 years later Sir Thomas Elder at Beltana Station, SA setup the first stud operation providing quality breeders for the next 50 years. Imports from India and Palestine, however, continued until 1907 bringing in an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 camels.

The camels brought into Australia were almost exclusively the one-humped camels (Camelus dromedarius) because they are highly suited to the Australian climate. Only a few two-humped camels (Camelus bactrianus) were imported (Two-humped camels are best suited to cold deserts.)

Today camels can be found roaming wild in the interior of Australia. Camel racing occurs in different parts of Australia and there are camel treks for tourists to enjoy.

Camels Australia
Take an Australian tour on the back of a camel.

Overlanders
Steakhouse restaurant serving camel, crocodile, emu, and kangaroo meals.

Australian Bilby
Takes Over for the Rabbit

It may come as a surprise to some people, but rabbits are not native to Australia. Because of the damage they do, they’re unpopular here and some states even ban owning a rabbit.

For over 10 years the Foundation for a Rabbit-Free Australia has campaigned to replace the Easter Bunny with the Easter Bilby (Greater Bilby – Macrotis Lagotis). It is an important reminder to Australians of the plight of our native wildlife.

The Greater Bilby is on the endangered list living in the wild only in  the Northern Territory, Western Australia, and a small corner of south western Queensland.

We hope you’ll visit the Save the Bilby Fund website and learn how you can support this endangered Australian animal.

Do your part to spread the word about this Aussie native and send our free Bilby Card.

Aussie Pet Organizations

To continue our animal theme, we’d like to share with you three interesting organizations . . .

Australian Support Dogs (ASDOG) is a registered charity that raises and trains dogs to assist people with physical disabilities.

Dogs Across Australia offers information and encourages the support of ‘No Kill’ Rescue Shelters across Australia and to rehome unwanted pets.

Lost Dogs Home  helps with pet adoptions and offers shelter to lost or abandoned pets. They also run the National Pet Register to help reunite lost pets with their owners.

Whaling in Australia

Most of us know about convicts being transported to Australia by ship. However, did you know that as early as 1791 those same ships were used to hunt whales after dropping off the convicts?

Until 1833 whaling was Australia’s first primary industry coming ahead of wool as an export commodity. Over 300 American whaling ships also operated off the Western Australian coast in 1840. As late as the 1970s over 1,000 sperm whales were killed at the last Australian whaling station at Frenchman Bay, WA. This stopped when The Whale Protection Act in 1981 prohibited whaling in Australian waters.

The last Australian-based whaling fleet ended operation in 1978. World-wide the number of whales killed that same year was 28,240 whales. Of that number, the most were caught by the USSR (12,139), Japan (8,999 whales) and Peru (1,511).

Whales in Australia

Some of the whales travelling through Australian waters (in order of size): Blue Whale (40 metres, Finback or Rorqual (25m), Sperm Whale (20m), Southern Right Whale (18m), Humpback (15m), Little Piked Whale (10m), Killer Whale (9m), False Killer Whale (6m), Pigmy Whales (6m), Pigmy Sperm Whale (4m)

Size conversions for our American friends … .

  40m = 131.2 ft
  25m = 82.0 ft
  20m = 65.6 ft
18m = 59.1 ft
15m = 49.2 ft
10m = 32.8 ft
9m = 29.5 ft
6m = 19.7 ft
4m = 13.1 ft

Lorikeet Mistake

Linda McM wrote us that she sent one of our birthday cards to her vet friend. He enjoyed the card but said we had it wrong. The bird shown was a male Eclectus Roratus, not a lorikeet. He’s treated them in his practice so he knows his birds.

We’ve been feeding lorikeets in our backyard for years and have no excuse how we could make such a mistake.

No worries. We’ve added a real lorikeet card and fixed the other one. If you know someone having a birthday or just for the fun of it, send a lorikeet card today!

Kangaroo Island

Australia is often called an island continent since its surrounded by ocean. But did you know Australia has over 8,000 islands within its maritime borders.

Karen, a grade four student from Iowa, USA wanted to know if Kangaroo Island was called that because it has so many roos. Actually Capt. Matthew Flinders sailing on the HMS Investigator gave the island its name when he landed there in March 1802.

Why that name?When the men came ashore, the kangaroos were so tame, they had no trouble killing them. The men had not eaten fresh meat for 4 months so this was a welcome occasion. As a result Capt. Flinders honoured the kangaroos by naming the island after them.Kangaroo Island is also famous for being the oldest bee sanctuary in the world. For a list of Australia’s biggest islands, see our Land Facts page. 


Write a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *