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Platypus Facts
Some facts about Platypus
The Platypus is a semi-aquatic mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania.
Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young.
The animal is best described as a hodgepodge of more familiar species: the duck (bill and webbed feet), beaver (tail), and otter (body and fur).
It is one of the few venomous mammals; the male Platypus has a spur on the hind foot which delivers a poison capable of causing severe pain to humans.
Until the early 20th century it was hunted for its fur, but it is now protected
Males are also poisonous. They have sharp stingers on the heels of their rear feet and can use them to deliver a strong toxic blow to any foe.

They live aside freshwater rivers or lakes, and create burrows for shelter and protection.
These creatures weight on average between 1 to 2.4 kilograms. They have an average lifespan of 12 years
The flat furry tail stores fat for the long cold winter in freezing waters. The platypus has developed to use its tail as a rudder, steering it while it swims.
These Australian mammals are bottom feeders. They scoop up insects and larvae, shellfish, and worms in their bill along with bits of gravel and mud from the bottom. All this material is stored in cheek pouches and, at the surface, mashed for consumption. Platypuses do not have teeth, so the bits of gravel help them to "chew" their meal.


When the Platypus was first discovered by Europeans in 1798, a pelt and sketch were sent back to the United Kingdom The British scientists were at first convinced that the odd collection of physical attributes must have been a hoax. It was thought that somebody had sewn a duck's beak onto the body of a beaver-like animal. Shaw even took a pair of scissors to the dried skin to check for stitches. Some facts about Platypus The Platypus is a semi-aquatic mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. ... more -
Kangaroo Farts!
According to scientists, Kangaroo farts are fighting global warming.
Thanks to a special bacteria in their stomachs, kangaroos do not emit harmful methane gas when they let off a stinker.
Here are the facts:
A kangaroo is a marsupial
Tehre are some 63 living species of Kangaroo. Including the Red Kangaroo, the Antilopine Kangaroo, and the Eastern and Western Grey Kangaroo wallabies, tree-kangaroos, wallaroos, pademelons and the Quokka
Kangaroos are endemic to the continent of Australia, are found in Australia and New Guinea.
The kangaroo is an Australian icon: it is featured on the Australian coat of arms on some of its currency and is used by many Australian organisations,
Kangaroos live in groups called mobs.
Young kangaroos sometimes box playfully to pass the time. Adult males box to determine dominance, with the strongest male becoming the head of the mob.
They are not farmed to any extent, but wild kangaroos are shot for meat and fur,
While running at speeds of about 12 mph, these kangaroos are able to reach 35 mph in short bursts.
Kangaroos can be the size of a rat or as tall as a man.
Bucks (male kangaroos) "kickbox" in order to win mates. Two male rivals clasp arms and attempt to kick each other in the belly. They are able to stand on their tail while using both hind legs to kick
A female is called a doe, flyer, jill, or roo;
A male kangaroo is called a buck, boomer, jack, or old man

The western gray kangaroo Macropus fuliginosus buck has been nicknamed "the stinker" because it smells like curry! 

Kangaroos cannot walk backwards!
A mother kangaroo can produce milk of two different types to feed two different babies (joeys) at the same time: a joey that has emerged from the pouch but is still nursing and a newborn!
Females have one baby at a time, which at birth is smaller than a cherry. According to scientists, Kangaroo farts are fighting global warming. ... more -
Wombat Facts
Wombats Rock!
This mammal is a marsupial,
When wombats fight each other, they generally try to bite each other on the bum.
Female wombats are bigger than male wombats
Wombats generally renovate old burrows, some of these burrows may have been dug 50, 100 or even 1,000 years ago.
Wombats fall asleep on their sides, but end up rolling over onto their back, with their four feet sticking up in the air.
A wombat may spend two-thirds of its life underground
When a wombat is born it is the size of a pea, and weighs only 1 gram.
A wombat can run at 40 kph, but only for up to 90 seconds
Wombats teeth have no roots and grow through itÂ’s lifetime.
A wombat baby remains in its mother's pouch for about five months before emerging.
Some species (the northern hairy-nosed wombats) are now critically endangered, while others (the common or coarse-haired wombat) are still hunted as vermin.
The name wombat comes from the Eora Aboriginal community
Wombats are herbivores, their diet consisting mostly of grasses, sedges, herbs, bark and roots.
One defense of a wombat against a predator (such as a Dingo) underground is to crush it against the roof of the tunnel suffocating the predator.
Its primary defense is its toughened rear hide with most of the posterior made of cartilage.
Wombats are native only to Australia.
Wombats can live from about 5 years to over 30 years.
A wombat burrow can be as long as 20 metres. Wombats Rock! This mammal is a marsupial, When wombats fight each other, they generally try to bite each other on the bum. ... more -
Primordial Platypus
Platypus descendents go back to at least the Early Cretaceous period, possibly even earlier.
That's 120 million years ago... talk about finding your niche. Platypus descendents go back to at least the Early Cretaceous period, possibly even earlier. ... more -
Rush Down Under
Catherine Freeman from Lonely Planet television shows us how to get the blood flowing down under in this Bluelist pod.
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Australian Wildlife
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