More than 80% of our plants, mammals, reptiles and frogs are unique to Australia and are found nowhere else in the world. Some of our Australian animals are very well known like kangaroos, dingos, wallabies and wombats and of course the koala, platypus and echidna.
Foods only available in Australia: Vegemite, Chiko rolls, fairy bread, Milo, Lamingtons and Twisties | news.com.au — Australia's leading news site.
Koalas - one of Australia's most beloved animals, thanks to their cuddly appearance and adorable nose. With their grey fur, big, fluffy ears, and large nose, koalas are not just one of the most well-known cute Australian animals, they can actually only be found (in the wild) in the country's east.
The Tasmanian Devil is a marsupial that only lives - the name says it all - on the island of Tasmania. It is one of Australia's most unique and endangered species.
1. Koala. This iconic animal is recognized worldwide as a symbol of Australia. This marsupial keeps her baby in her pouch for six months after birth (a joey is the size of a jellybean when it is born!).
Australia is globally famous for its natural wonders, wide-open spaces, beaches, deserts, "The Bush", and "The Outback". Australia is one of the world's most highly urbanised countries; it's well known for its attractive mega cities such as Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth.
Woylie. The endangered Woylie or Brush-tailed Bettong is an extremely rare, rabbit-sized marsupial, only found in Australia.
Fact: Northern hairy-nosed wombat is the rarest land mammal in the world. In the past 100 years, it occurred in Queensland, Victoria, and New South Wales. At resent, it only exists in the Queensland Epping Forest National Park.
Some of the more well-known and popular animals include koala, kangaroo, wombat, wallaby, platypus, dingo and echidna. Although finding these exotic animals in the wild is rather challenging, you can generally find most of these rare and unique species in a zoo.
The rarest animal in the world is the vaquita (Phocoena sinus). It is a kind of critically endangered porpoise that only lives in the furthest north-western corner of the Gulf of California in Mexico.
We believe in the free flow of information
Australian birds are arguably among the smartest in the world. Some display complex behaviours such as problem solving, learning and tool use comparable to behaviours observed in great apes.
Australia probably has between 200,000 and 300,000 species, about 100,000 of which have been described. There are some 250 species of native mammals, 550 species of land and aquatic birds, 680 species of reptiles, 190 species of frogs, and more than 2,000 species of marine and freshwater fish.
Scientists still don't understand why the quokkas are always smiling, but they put it down to an 'accident of evolution'. Just don't let their smiling faces fool you, quokkas bite dozens of people each year on their home of Rottnest Island off Western Australia, normally when snatching food!
Australia is home to a wonderful (and large) cast of weird and unique critters, but the most endearing of the lot have to be the ever-smiling quokkas. Close relatives to kangaroos and wallabies, these furry plant-eaters are the only mammals native to Rottnest Island, located off the coast of Fremantle.
Quokkas, famous for posing in selfies, are native to Rottnest Island where about 10,000 live a sheltered life free from predators or traffic.
What is Santa Claus called in Australia? These days most Australians call Atnas (his real name) “Santa”.