Nature Watch Mammals

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Mammals
Welcome to the
wonderful world of
NATURE WATCH. For
as long as I can remember
I have loved watching animals
going about their daily lives.
Mammals are one of my favourite groups of animals —
humans are mammals, so even though you may not think
you have very much in common with an echidna or a seal,
we actually share many similarities. Mammals are also some
of the cutest and cuddliest animals — think of how adorable
koalas, sugar gliders and kangaroos are (just to name a few).
I wanted to create a book about these amazing
animals because there is a lot more to mammals
than you may think. I hope that as you watch and
study mammals, you will also want to help your
family and friends learn more about them,
and do all you can to protect these
fascinating creatures.
Mammals What’s that pong?
Who “nose” what the nose knows? 28
26
Psst, get over here! 30

Singers & chatterboxes 32
Fighting for food or fun 34
CONTENTS
Home is where the heart is ... 36
What makes me a mammal? 2
Life in a hollow or burrow 38
Different kinds of mammals 4
Life under water 40
Egg-laying mammals 6
Safety in numbers 42
Pouched mammals 8
Daytime is playtime 44
Belly-button mammals 10
Caring about mammals 46
The great Australian bite 12
Glossary 48
Different dinners 14
Moving like a mammal 16
Up, up & away 18
Hop to it! 20
Making sense of life 22
Hear hear! 24
www.steveparish.com.au
INTRODUCTION
What makes
me a mammal? Koala
Girl with joey

You may not think that you are much like
a kangaroo, an echidna or a seal, but you
share one thing that is the same — you are
all mammals. Mammals are covered with
fur or hair that helps them stay warm.
Sea-lions
Milk from Mum

All mammals, even seals and dolphins,
feed their babies on milk that the
mothers produce. They also have fine
hairs that cover their bodies.
ot
B
4 tlesea-lion
no
se d
dolphino lph in
Dingoes
I drink mil
k, just like you! Ba
by
possum
Most mammals give birth to live

babies. Sometimes the babies
are born without hair, but it
quickly grows and covers
their bodies.
A special type of hair Fur
Even the spiky, spiny echidna is a

mammal. Its spines are just a special
type of hair. Special differences like Ec
hi
this help animals survive and are dn
a sp
called adaptations. ines
5
INTRODUCTION
Striped
possum
Different kinds of mammals

There are three different mammal groups — placental
mammals (like you), monotremes (like the echidna and
platypus) and marsupial mammals (like kangaroos).
Bats
Dingo
Sea-lion
PLACENTAL mammals, like you, bats, dingoes and seals, have live young.
They don’t have pouches or lay eggs.
6
It doesn’t matter whether a baby mammal grows
in its mum’s belly, grows in a pouch or hatches
from an egg, the mother still feeds it milk. Drinking
milk is another thing that sets mammals apart from
other animals.
Koala & baby

Platypus
l l g row differe
ntly as
a .
e babies
W
Echidna
Grey kangaroo
& joey
MONOTREMES, like the platypus and MARSUPIAL mammals, like koalas,

echidna, lay eggs. kangaroos and gliders, have pouches.
MONOTREMES
Egg-laying mammals Echidna
Monotremes (egg-laying mammals) are very odd animals.

The only monotremes in the world are echidnas and the
platypus. This makes Australia the best place to study
these amazing mammals.
Baby platypuses drink

milk differently to other
mammals. Small patches
of skin on the mother
platypus’s belly ooze
milk and wet her fur. The
Platypus young platypuses suck
their mother’s fur to drink
the milk. Platypuses live in
the water and have three
layers of thick fur to help
them stay dry.
A platypus’s eggs are

very small — smaller
than half the size of
a twenty cent piece.
Pu
gg
le Perfect little puggles
Baby echidnas are called puggles. They
are born without any spines. Soon after
they hatch, soft hair grows. The spines
8 appear when they are older.
Echidna
Look but don’t touch

Echidna spines are very sharp. They help
echidnas avoid being eaten by their enemies.
The spines can also hurt you if you touch
them. It is best not to touch wild creatures
at all unless you are with a wildlife carer
at a fauna park. 9
MARSUPIALS
Pouched mammals Wombat
Australia has a lot of marsupials,

which are mammals that grow
their babies in pouches.
When a marsupial is born, it has no hair and
is as tiny as a jelly bean! It crawls up into its
mother’s cosy pouch, where it drinks milk,
grows hair and gets bigger.
Months later, when it is too big for the
pouch, it clings on to its mother’s fur or
starts to move about on its own.
la
oa
k Koalas
y
B ab
B ab
yr
ng
i
ta
il p
ossums
Pocket pouches
Bandicoots have pouches that face
backwards, so dirt won’t get in the
“pocket” when the mother bandicoot
Br
digs for food. The picture on the left

ow
n
ba
nd
shows a baby trying to get into its mum’s
10 i coo pouch, but it is too big to fit.
t & joey
Grey kangaroo & joey
Albino red-necked
wallaby & joey
Marsupials come in many

colours, sometimes even
pure white, like the
albino wallaby above.
But a white mother may
not always pass on its
colour to its baby.
Watch out f o r b a by
It is fun to watch and photograph
kangaroos at your local wildlife park, but
if a kangaroo has a baby joey in its pouch
you should be careful not to get too close.
11
PLACENTALS
Fur-seal
Belly-button mammals
You belong to a group of mammals
known as placental mammals.
A baby placental mammal doesn’t live in a pouch.
Instead it grows bigger inside its mother’s tummy.
Dingo
Inside the
mother, the baby
is attached to a special
sac called a placenta. The
placenta takes food and
oxygen from the mother’s
blood and passes these
to the baby through
a tube called an
umbilical cord.
Ba
y
b
ba
ts
Babies left behind

Bats are placental mammals. Some
of the mothers give birth to babies
at around the same time. The babies
are then left in a big group while the
mothers go off hunting for food to
bring back to their babies.
Ba
t
12
We a
re
b ell
y-b
utton mammals t
oo
!
Bottlenose
dolphins
Just like you

You can tell where your umbilical cord
used to be because it now forms your
belly button. All placental mammals have
a belly button, just like you do. 13
TEETH
Tasmanian devil
The great Australian bite

Koala teeth
Scientists can tell which type of mammal an
animal is from the shape of its skull, jaws and
teeth, as well as how it gives birth to its young.
A mammal’s teeth and jaws suit the type of food it eats.
Teeth made for biting are known as incisors or “canine
teeth” and are sharp and pointed. Teeth made for
grinding and chewing are further back in the cheek
and are called molars.
Wombats and koalas are

plant eaters. Their front
teeth can snip off even the
toughest of plants.
The most teeth

The numbat has the most
teeth of all mammals. It
has 52 teeth, but it doesn’t
Numbat really need them because
it eats only termites,
14 which are very soft.
I have big teeth
fo r te
ar i
ng
m e a t!
Tasmanian
devil
Quoll
Some mammals are meat-eaters.

They use sharp canine teeth for tearing flesh.
FOOD
Different dinners Mulgara
Ta s
ma
ni
Like humans, many mammals eat meat,
an
de as well as vegetables, leaves, nectar
or fruit. These mammals are called
vi
l
omnivores. Some small desert
mammals also get all the water
they need from food like insects
and leaves.
Meat-eating animals like
the Tasmanian devil
and the dunnart are
called carnivores.
They catch and
kill their own food
or sniff out dead
animals that have
been killed by
rt
something else, which

na
n
Du
is called scavenging.
Sea cows
Another special kind of mammal
lives in the sea and is called
a dugong. Dugongs eat only
seagrass. For this reason they are
sometimes known as “sea cows”.
Other marine mammals, such as seals
and sea-lions, eat fish. Whales eat tiny
o ng
16 Du g shrimp-like animals called krill.
We are her
biv t s.
ores. We eat plan
Koalas
Koalas and greater

gliders are herbivores,
which means they only
eat plants. They eat gum
leaves and they are very
fussy, choosing them
from only a few types of
gum tree.
Greater glider
vo r e or c a r ni vor e?
He r bi
If you eat vegetables and meat then you
are an omnivore. Some people choose to
eat only vegetables and do not eat meat
at all. They are known as “vegetarians”,
which is another name for herbivores. 17
MOVING
Moving like a mammal

All mammals have a backbone,
which is made up of lots of small
bones to make it bend. Your skeleton
is also supported by a backbone, called your
spine, which protects your spinal cord.
You are only able to walk, run, jump and play
because your brain sends messages to your
muscles, which are all connected to a hard skeleton
beneath your skin.
For a hopping-mouse to move around

its desert home, its brain must first send
messages to its spine and muscles. Its
bones, like yours, have joints that give
the hopping-mouse the
flexibility to run, jump,
Hopping-mouse leap and groom its fur.
A bony skeleton
A mammal’s skeleton may
differ slightly to suit its
lifestyle, but it remains mostly
the same. Even mammals
that hop, swim or fly all have
skeletons and backbones,
although the size of the
bones may change.
Bandicoot skeleton
18
Brushtail possums
Bo
ne
un
s
de ...
rm ov e
y skin help me m
l m ov e t h e s a me
We al
The spinal cord carries
messages from your brain
to your muscles. When your
muscles get the message,
they move and your bones
move with them! Mammals,
like these young brushtail
possums, all move in this way. 19
FLYING & GLIDING Glider
Up, up & away

Bats are the only true flying mammals.
All other airborne mammals are really
only gliding. The difference is that bats are
able to flap their wings, like birds do.
Gliders do not flap.
Gliders have
a membrane of
skin that connects
to each arm and
stretches to the ankle.
A glider’s “wings” look
more square than a
Flying-fox
bat’s. Wind beneath the
membrane helps gliders
to soar from one tree to
another but they cannot
“fly” long distances like
bats do.
Featherless Fliers
Unlike birds, bats do not
have feathers to help
them fly. Instead, their
es
wings are made up of a

ox
-f
ng thin layer of stretchy skin
df l yi
20 Little r e called a membrane.
Amazing Ghost bats
ly, I
ca n
fly
w
ith
my
fing
ers!
The long bones that
stretch to the wing tips
are the bat’s fingers. The
bat’s hands are circled in
the photograph below.
Give me Five!
Can you see the bat’s
wrist above?
Can you find the bat’s

fingers and thumb?
HOPPING
Hop to it! Kangaroos
The most famous hoppers are kangaroos and wallabies, but some other
small mammals, such as hopping-mice, also move in this way.
Kangaroos and other hopping mammals have very

large back leg muscles and tendons that act like
powerful, elastic springs. Their big feet are
attached to these muscles and tendons and
together they work like a slingshot to help
the animal hop.
When you hop you get puffed easily
because your body is not designed
for hopping. (Try it!)
But hopping is an
adaptation that helps
some other mammals save
energy! A kangaroo’s
body even uses less oxygen
to hop than to run.
Red-necked pademelon
B ri
dled
No going back ...
nailt ail wallaby
Kangaroos and hopping-

mice cannot go backwards
because they have to move
both of their back legs at
the same time to bound.
The long, strong tail helps
22 Hopping-mouse them balance as they hop.
e lp me ho
t
Red kangaroo
e h p!
g f e
M y bi
How fa r c a n y o u j u m p?
A red kangaroo can jump
several metres in a single
bound. How high and how far
can you jump in a single leap?
23
SENSES
Making sense of life Pademelon
You use sight, smell, touch, taste and hearing to help you explore your
world, and other mammals do too. Their senses help them “make sense”
of their surroundings. How and where a mammal lives decides what
senses it needs to use most.
Prowling meat-eaters, like dingoes and quolls, need a
good sense of sight, smell and hearing to find and
catch prey. Shy bandicoots and kangaroos have
good eyesight, hearing and smell because they
need to be able to escape from their enemies.
Barred bandicoot
Flying-fox
Have you ever heard the saying,
“as blind as a bat”? Well, if you have,
it’s not true. Bats and flying-foxes are
not blind at all. In fact, most mammals
have good eyesight.
For many mammals,

rs
i s kewhiskers are
h
Se a l w important for sensing
the environment around
them. Seals have very sensitive
whiskers, which can be used to feel
Cu
sc
24 for fish in dark or murky waters. s

u
Platypus
I h a v e a specia
l sixth sens e!
Your Five senses The platypus

has small eyes
Pl
at
yp
us
but good sight
Hearing, seeing, touching, and hearing. It only
tasting and smelling are your opens its eyes when
five senses, but mammals it is above water and is very
often use sight and smell more good at spotting movement on
than the others. Some people the river bank. Little is known
may have lost one of these about its sense of smell and
senses, making them blind taste, but scientists do know
or deaf. Often, this makes it has a special sixth sense
another sense even stronger. called electroreception. It uses
Sometimes we forget that we electroreceptors in its sensitive
are sensing the world around bill to find food under water,
us all of the time. when its eyes are closed. 25
HEARING
Hear, hear!
You probably cannot move your
ears (although some people can
wiggle theirs!), but kangaroos and
bilbies can. They swivel their ears to Flying-fox
face the direction of a noise. Hearing is
important for most mammals, whether
they live on land or in the sea.
Flying-foxes have excellent hearing.
This helps them to fly away at the
first sound of danger.
Red kangaroo Some mammals, such as seals,

dolphins, platypuses and
echidnas, have only very tiny
earholes that are very hard
to see. Animals with such
small ears mostly have other,
more important ways
of sensing their
Fur-seal & pup
surroundings.
Ea rs that cool blood

The bilby’s big ears don’t just help it avoid
danger, they also help keep it cool! Bilbies live
in hot places where it is important to stay cool.
Their big ears are filled with small veins. The air
outside cools the blood in these veins as it flows
Bilby through the bilby’s large ears.
a r a n e c h o, e cho, e c h o . . .
h e
I
Bottlenose dolphin
ten in g t o e c h oes
Lis
One of the strangest ways to hear is
by echolocation. Whales, dolphins
and bats use echolocation, which
is listening to echoes. This style of
hearing helps them understand the
Bat
shape of their surroundings because
they are “listening” to the echoes
that bounce off objects around them. 27
SMELLING
What’s that pong? Koala
What is your favourite smell? Perfume? Breakfast? Roses? Like you, most
land mammals are able to smell food, flowers and the “scent” given off
by other animals. They can also sniff out smoke in the air and predators,
which helps them to avoid danger.
This picture shows dingoes
Dingoes
picking up the scent of
another dog, which left
its smell by peeing on the
ground, logs and trees.
Some mammals even have
special scent patches (known
as glands) that they use to
mark their territory or to
attract a mate. Male koalas
have a sticky patch on their
chests (seen in the picture
opposite). They rub the patch
against trees to leave smelly
“messages” for other koalas
that might visit the area.
ar oo
ang
t-k
ra
y
A little stinker
k
us
M
The musky rat-kangaroo lives

in the rainforests of north
Queensland and is named
for its funny, musky smell.
28 Scientists do not know why it
gives off such a strong pong.
Male koala
.
e ll messa othe
r s
ca n sm ges left by
I
The wombat does not

have scent glands like
Wom
its relative the koala.

Instead, the males mark
atb
their home territory by

po
pooing on top of a rock.

o
NOSES
Who “nose” what

the nose knows?
e
os
tn
a
o mb
W
Mammals’ noses have many shapes and sizes.
Whether round like a wombat’s or long and thin like an echidna’s,
their shape and size can tell you how mammals sniff out their food.
Mammals also often use their noses for more than just smelling.
Wombats have a great sense of smell. A

wombat’s blunt, rubbery nose is also used
for nudging soil out of the way when it
digs its burrow under the ground.
Some mammal mothers recognise their
young by their scent. This is important
when mothers have to leave their
young to find food for them. The
baby’s smell helps its mother find it
joey
quickly when she returns.

y&
la b
al
W
Barred bandicoot
SnuFFle snouts
Bandicoots poke their long snouts
ot
into the earth to “snuffle” out worms d i co

30 and insects hidden in the soil. ba n
Brown
Some bats have strange-
shaped noses that include fleshy
“noseleaves”. These funny flaps of
skin help them echolocate, which is
listening to echoes, much like whales
and dolphins do (see page 25).
Orange leaf-nosed bat
Platypus
l in g n ose y ?
Fee
Noses can be very sensitive.
The echidna presses its nose
against fallen logs to “feel” for termites
inside. The platypus’s nose is very sensitive
to touch and is used to find food under the
water by sensing weak electrical signals
from swimming animals, like crayfish and
tadpoles, as well as other prey.
Echidna
COMMUNICATING
Psst, get over here! Feathertail

gliders
Mammals communicate with each other in many ways. They may use
smell, make sounds, or use certain behaviours to show fear, to comfort or
just say “hello”. Even the way they hold their bodies or move can act as
a “language” between mammals of the same kind.
Some kangaroos and wallabies thump

their tails as an alarm call if they are
upset or threatened. This warns the rest of
Bennett’s
wallabies the mob, or group, that there is danger.
Adult wallabies “talk” to each other
mainly through “body language”, but
mothers may also make soft clicks and
clucks to their joeys.
Red-necked wallabies
Grooming is one way that animals look after

each other. Friendly mammals may lick each
other’s fur, nuzzle each other, or pick burrs
32 and ticks from each other’s coats.
Dingoes
We ho
oo
o oo
ow
w w w w l l l l l ...
Bellows & howls

Male koalas “yell out” to other males and
females during the mating season by making a
loud snoring sound called a bellow.
If you have a dog, it probably barks from time

a la to time. Dingoes are native dogs, but they never
Ko bark; they only howl. Howling is a way of
“talking” to other dingoes. 33
SINGERS
Singers & Chatterboxes

Sperm whales
Are you a good singer?

Whales certainly are.
They “talk” to other
whales by singing. In
fact, whales are such
good singers they may
have hundreds of songs.
Whale watching
In some places around Australia, you
can go on a whale-watching boat ride
to see these magnificent mammals.
Dolphins have also
developed an unusual
language. They use
many clicks and
sounds to “talk”
to each other.
Dolphins
Whale songs may be up

to ten minutes long and,
depending on the species,
may include roars, clicks,
sighs, moans, trumpets and
squeals. Songs are also
used to help whales find
their way, or navigate,
in the ocean.
s in g , si gh a er
.
n at
c a n d click un der w
e
W
Whales sing songs, but

they don’t have vocal
chords like humans do, so
scientists aren’t sure how
they make these noises! 35
FIGHTING Tasmanian
devils
Fighting for food or fun

Sometimes humans have arguments and mammals are no different.
Mammals may fight over food, over territory, or over partners.
Some fighting is even just for play.
Kangaroos are famous for their

boxing skills. Male kangaroos fight
to see who will be the leader of
the “mob”. They not only box
with their front paws, they
may also kick with their
strong back legs.
Red
kangaroo
os
ro
ga
an
Dingo
k
d
re
M ale
Some animals choose not

Echidna
to fight at all, but rather
to run or hide to avoid
any danger. An echidna
rolls itself up into a tight
spiky ball or digs straight
down into the ground to
avoid attack.
36
Tasmanian devils and
dingoes fight fiercely
over food. The best
fighter usually gets the
most dinner, so it really is
survival of the toughest!
Young Tasmanian devils
and dingoes also “play
fight”, which helps them
learn the skills they need
as adults.
Sea-lio
ns
Roaring wrestlers
Male seals and sea-
lions fight by roaring,
wrestling and biting
each other. They fight
to make sure they get
the most females, which
stay with the male in a
group called a harem.
WHERE MAMMALS LIVE
Home is where the heart is ...

Mammals can live in many different environments, including
the tree tops, the deserts, the oceans and even underground.
Rock-wallabies Rock-wallabies are

amazing leapers.
They make large
bounds from rock to
rock in the habitats in
which they live. Tough
soles on their feet and
large tails help rock-
wallabies balance.
Native mice and

bandicoots make cosy
nests of straw and
grasses, where they can
hide from predators.
Na
tiv
e
m
ic
e
s
o ot
di c
an
nb
38 Brow
p e c ial hom .
a s e in the tre es
ve
a
Ih
Tree-kangaroo
Climbing kangaroos!
Tree-kangaroos live high
up in the forest under a
thick layer, or canopy, of
tree branches. The canopy
is like the “roof” of the
rainforest. You would
need to be an excellent
climber to find
a tree-kangaroo. 39
WHERE MAMMALS LIVE
Bettong
Life in a hollow or burrow

Do you like to play in a cubby house? So do many Australian mammals.
Some spend most of their lives safe and secure in a hollow log or tree.
Many give birth to their babies in these tree-hollow shelters and sleep
there. When trees are cut down, these animals might lose their homes!
Others are great diggers that build comfortable underground tunnels.
Wombat Wombats are wonderful

diggers. They have
powerful legs and sharp
claws for scratching out
deep burrows.
ws
la
tc
ba
Wom
Bilbies make their homes in the

desert where they dig burrows
to live in. During the heat of the
day they stay cool below ground.
At night they come out to feed on
seeds and grasses.
40 Bilbies
Ringtail possums
We need h
ollo
w
log
s to live in.
Tree-hollow homes
It takes a long time for a tree
to grow big enough to have a
hollow that animals, like bats and
possums, can use as a home. Some
tree hollows might be a hundred
ts
Ba
years old or even more!
WHERE MAMMALS LIVE
Life under water

Even though you don’t live in the
Pla
water, you can learn to swim using
ty
us
p
your arms and legs to stroke and kick.
Many other mammals

swim in a similar
way. Even waddling
echidnas and
climbing koalas
t
-ra
can swim! But some t er
Wa
mammals spend almost
their entire lives swimming in
the ocean, creeks or streams.
Platypuses and water-rats are excellent swimmers.
They can swim either on the surface or under the
water, where they chase and eat crayfish.
Fur-seal
Can you Float?
Sea mammals like fur-seals
have other adaptations for
life at sea. Beneath a sea
mammal’s tough skin is a
layer of fat called blubber.
Blubber keeps the animal
warm and helps it float.
When snorkelling with
mum or dad, see if you can
float like a sea mammal.
42
Fur-seal
My flippe
rs
h el
p
m
es
w im fa st.
Whales, dolphins, seals
and sea-lions spend most
of their lives swimming.
Beneath their slippery
skins, they have skeletons
very like your own, but
their hands and feet are
paddle-shaped flippers to
help them swim. Imagine
how fast you could swim
if you had flippers on your
hands and your feet!
Blowhole boogers
Whales and dolphins
spend their whole lives
swimming, but they must
come up to the surface
regularly to breathe
air. A whale has just
one “nostril” to breathe
through — its blowhole.
When a whale breathes
out, it blows air and
s
le
“snot” out of its nostril.

ha
W
SOCIAL MAMMALS
ms
Safety in numbers
s su
po
l
t ai
R i ng
Just as lots of people live together in

neighbourhoods, many other mammals also live together in groups.
They do this because it’s safer and easier to communicate and raise young.
Fur-seals
Seals and sea-lions
live together in noisy
colonies on rocky or
sandy seashores. Some
“babysitting” mothers
look after the seal pups
while the rest of the
mother seals hunt.
g - f oxe s
Flyin
Bat
Bats form huge,

noisy groups
called colonies.
You may have
seen a colony
of flying-foxes
roosting in
trees in your
neighbourhood
44 in the evening.
Grey kangaroos
Kangaroos live together in mobs

to help protect themselves from
dingoes. Some of the kangaroos
keep watch for danger and alert
their friends if threats are near.
Koalas
You probably
would not feel safe in
the bush on your own and
many mammals feel exactly the
same way. Just like you and your family,
many mammals feel safe when their family
and friends are close by.
Koalas prefer to live

alone and each koala
has its own territory. But
koala neighbourhoods
often have some shared
trees where they find
mates and “hang out”
with other koalas. 45
DAY AND NIGHT ANIMALS Grey kangaroos
Daytime is playtime
Many mammals eat by day and sleep at night. Others
sleep by day and eat and mate at night. Some may be
active either day or night, depending on the weather and season.
Some mammals like to be out at dawn

and in the evening around sunset.
They prefer to sleep or hide for the
rest of the day and late at night.
Numbat
Daytime animals
Some day-active, or diurnal, mammals
are echidnas, numbats and the musky rat-
kangaroo. Several kangaroo and wallaby
species also come out to feed in the early
46 Echidna morning or at dusk.
Night-active, or Quoll
nocturnal, mammals
are quolls, hopping-
mice, dunnarts, bettongs
and bandicoots. Most
nocturnal animals live in
habitats where it is too
hot to come out and eat
during the day. They are
active at night so they can
save energy. However,
the Tasmanian devil lives
in chilly Tasmania and it
is also nocturnal.
love the n i g h tli f e !

e
W -e a r e d b a t
g
n
Lo
Let’s go spotlighting
Burrowing bettong e
r
If you wear a head lamp id

gl
or carry a torch at eye ar
Sug
level, you may see the
flash of a mammal’s
eyes shining down from
the trees or out from the
bushes. A mammal’s eyes
shine at night when they
reflect the torch light. 47
RARE AND ENDANGERED
Caring about mammals Quoll
Some Australian mammals are at risk because their habitats

are changing. Changes to our environment are happening very
quickly. We are clearing or polluting land and scientists do not
think animals will be able to adapt quickly enough. Animals
become extinct when there are no animals of that kind left alive.
Animals at risk of extinction are said to be endangered.
The rare mahogany glider is endangered. Like the

koala, it eats only gum leaves. If its home and food
trees are destroyed, it could become extinct.
The tiny mountain pygmy-possum lives in a small, cold
part of the Australian Alps, where snow falls in winter.
It is endangered because the weather is getting
hotter, so its snowy home is shrinking.
Mahogany
glider Mount
ain
py
gm
y-
p
os
su
m
48
Bilbies are endangered in Bilby
the wild. Scientists breed
them and then release
them in safe areas where
there are no cats or dogs.
ve..
rvi
su
us
el p Southern hairy-
h
nosed wombat
c a n
You
Numbat
The numbat is the
only one of its
kind and lives in
just a small part of
Western Australia.
The southern hairy-

nosed wombat is
endangered, along
with its cousin the
northern hairy-
nosed wombat.
Numbat 49
GLOSSARY
ADAPTATIONS Special features that help GROOM To clean and tidy fur.
animals survive. HABITAT The place where an animal or plant
AIRBORNE To move in the air. lives or grows.
ALBINO An animal that is born without pigment, HAREM A group of females that are protected
causing the skin and fur to be white and the by a single male.
eyes pink. HERBIVORE An animal that eats plants.
AVOID To keep away from. MATE When a male animal transfers special
CARNIVORE An animal that eats meat and cells to a female’s eggs, which causes young ones
other animals. to develop.
CATAPULT To move really quickly. MEMBRANE Thin connective tissue, like the tissue
DESIGNED Made for a special purpose. of a bat’s wings.
DIURNAL An animal that is active during the day. MOB A group of kangaroos or wallabies.
ECHOLOCATION To sense an object by sending NOCTURNAL An animal that hunts at night.

out sounds then listening to the echoes that bounce OMNIVORE An animal that eats both plants and
back off the object. animals.
ELECTRORECEPTION Being able to feel very slight PLACENTA A sac in placental animals that connects
electrical currents. the bloodstream of an unborn animal to its mother.
ENDANGERED At risk of becoming extinct. PREDATOR An animal that hunts and eats animals.
EXTINCT When all individuals of a species RARE Not common.
are dead. REFLECT To show light back.
FAUNA Animals. SCAVENGER An animal that eats dead animals.
SPECIES A group of organisms that are the same
type and can breed to make babies.
TENDONS Bands of tough tissue that connect a
muscle with a bone and play an important part in
helping animals to move.
TERRITORY The area occupied by and defended
by an animal or group of animals.
UMBILICAL CORD The tube that connects the baby
that is developing inside its mother’s tummy to the
placenta and allows food and oxygen to be passed
from mother to baby.
Steve Parish is a passionate Karin Cox is an editor, poet
promoter of the natural world. and author who grew up on
He is thrilled that we have so a farm in the Sunshine Coast
much wildlife in Australia to Hinterland — inspiring her love
appreciate and protect, while for nature. Graduating with a
also having so many secrets left degree in English Literature &
to discover about it. Steve has Communication Studies, she first
been photographing nature entered publishing as an editor,
and the Australian lifestyle going on to edit and ghostwrite
for more than 40 years. books in Australia and the UK
His company, Steve Parish before publishing her first book
Publishing, is known throughout in Australia in 2003. She has
the world for its colourful now written more than fifteen
images, striking designs and titles for Steve Parish Publishing.
innovative content.
Principal photographer: Steve Parish

Additional photography: Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary: p. 16 (x-ray); Dr Tom Grant: p. 6 (platypus
egg); Les Hall: p. 10 (baby bats); Greg Harm/SPP: pp. 11 (belly button), 19, 27 & 37 (boy),
21 (girl) & 33 (children); Hans & Judy Beste/Lochman Transparencies: p. 18 (glider);
M & I Morcombe: p. 12 (numbat); Ian Morris: pp. 8 (ringtail possums), 24 & 38 (bilbies) &
29 (tadpoles); Melanie Newton: p. 32 (whale watching); Rudie Kuiter/OceanwideImages.com:
p. 14 (dugong); Steve Parish/Les Hall: front cover and pp. 1, 4, 18, 19, 29, 39, 42 & 45 (bats),
Published by Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd 10 (bottom bat) & 22, 24 & 42 (flying-fox); Jennifer Parkhurst: pp. 3, 10 & 31 (dingoes);
PO Box 1058, Archerfield, Queensland 4108 Australia Queensland Museum: p. 29 (echidna); Bruce Cowell/Queensland Museum: p. 46 (glider);
Gary Cranitch/Queensland Museum: pp. 12 & 13 (skulls); Terry Reardon/Steve Bourne:
www.steveparish.com.au p. 25 (bat); Sophie Sharman: p. 15 (vegetables); Ron & Valerie Taylor: pp. 32–33 (sperm whales)
© copyright Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd & 33 (dolphins)
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be Text: Karin Cox, SPP
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted Concept design: Thomas Hamlyn-Harris, SPP
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, Design layout: Thomas Hamlyn-Harris & Leanne Nobilio, SPP
photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior Editorial: Cathy Vallance & Michele Perry, SPP
permission in writing of the publisher. Production: Jacqueline Schneider, SPP
ISBN 978174193521 9 Colour management: Greg Harm, SPP
First published 2010. Produced in Australia at the Steve Parish Publishing Studios
The Nature Watch Collection
Collection: Nature Watch

Age range: 5+
Text level: newly independent readers
Text type: factual & informative
Skills: reading; using illustrations
to decode text; general
knowledge; vocabulary
The Nature Watch collection introduces children to Australia’s astounding

native animals. Children will learn all about animal bodies, senses, food,
behaviour and homes, as well as why we need to protect these wonderful
creatures. So take an adventure in learning and connect a child to nature today!
www.steveparish.com.au/shop?cat=1430
The Nature Watch Outdoor Activities and
Nature Watch Things to Make and Do books are
jam-packed with great ideas and nature-based activities
to get you out of the house and into the great outdoors!
Add to your knowledge of Australian animals with the
Junior Encyclopedias of Australian Wildlife and
Sealife, which are fantastic resources featuring full-
colour photographs and informative, easy-to-read text.
PUBLISHING
www.photographaustralia.com.au PROUDLY AUSTRALIAN OWNED

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Psst, get over here! 30

Girl with joey

Milk from Mum

Most mammals give birth to live

A special type of hair Fur

Even the spiky, spiny echidna is a

Different kinds of mammals

Koala & baby

MONOTREMES, like the platypus and MARSUPIAL mammals, like koalas,

Egg-laying mammals Echidna

Monotremes (egg-laying mammals) are very odd animals.

Baby platypuses drink

A platypus’s eggs are

Look but don’t touch

Pouched mammals Wombat

Australia has a lot of marsupials,

digs for food. The picture on the left

Marsupials come in many

Babies left behind

Just like you

The great Australian bite

Wombats and koalas are

The most teeth

Some mammals are meat-eaters.

Different dinners Mulgara

something else, which

Koalas and greater

Moving like a mammal

For a hopping-mouse to move around

Up, up & away

wings are made up of a

Can you find the bat’s

Hop to it! Kangaroos

Kangaroos and other hopping mammals have very

Kangaroos and hopping-

Making sense of life Pademelon

For many mammals,

24 for fish in dark or murky waters. s

Your Five senses The platypus

Red kangaroo Some mammals, such as seals,

Ea rs that cool blood

What’s that pong? Koala

The musky rat-kangaroo lives

The wombat does not

its relative the koala.

their home territory by

pooing on top of a rock.

Who “nose” what

Wombats have a great sense of smell. A

quickly when she returns.

into the earth to “snuffle” out worms d i co

Orange leaf-nosed bat

Psst, get over here! Feathertail

Some kangaroos and wallabies thump

Grooming is one way that animals look after

Bellows & howls

If you have a dog, it probably barks from time

Singers & Chatterboxes

Are you a good singer?

Whale songs may be up

Whales sing songs, but

Fighting for food or fun

Kangaroos are famous for their