To see the post written by Mrs. Yollis and her class once a surprise package arrived...
Meet Walter the Wombat
Wombats, Marsupials and Joeys
Following the arrival of a friendly wombat to Mrs. Yollis and her class in California, I wanted to share a couple extra photos.
Wombat
There are three species of wombat still to be found in Australia.
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Common wombat (Vombatus ursinus)
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Northern hairy-nosed wombat or yaminon (Lasiorhinus krefftii)
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Southern hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus latifrons)
In my area, we see the common wombat (Vombatus ursinus). They are herbivores and live in burrows. Normally, they aren't see during the day but can be seen venturing out at dusk. I have seen them in the daytime but this is unusual. Unfortunately, wombats are sometimes killed when crossing roads but groups such as WIRES plus the staff at Potoroo Palace care for joeys if their mother is killed. The fathers don't take part in raising young. The photo below is of an orphaned wombat joey. It was in the care of Potoroo Palace staff. Potoroo Palace seeks to return injured and orphaned animals to the wild if at all possible.
One of Potoroo Palace's greatest wildlife heroes, and a friend, is Alexandra Seddon. She has devoted her life to wildife and the environment. A documentary of her life and care for the environment was just released. Click here to see the short about Alexandra and someof what she has achieved.
Alexandra Seddon
Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.
Wombats live in burrows.
Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.
Seems a little yucky but below is a photo of wombat droppings. They are easy to identify because they have a cubic shape.
Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.
I realised I hadn't added a video clip of wombats to my You Tube channel so I have added a brief one showing Bert the Wombat taken at Potoroo Palace back in 2011.
Kangaroos and Wallabies
Most people know of kangaroos and the smaller wallabies. Not only are some species native to my area, they sometimes feed on my front lawn and are an extra obstacle for golfers at a local golf course. Also marsupials, the females have pouches. They are not all the large kangaroos we see on TV. Here are just a few species.
Parma Wallaby (Macropus parma) Taken at National Zoo in Camberra, Australia's capital city.
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Tree Kangaroo Taken at National Zoo in Camberra, Australia's capital city. Yes it climbs. There are 12 species of tree kangaroo found in New Guinea and northern Australia. The photo is of a Goodfellow's Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus goodfellowi) and is found in New Guinea.
Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.
Eastern Grey Kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) - Very common in my area and sometimes have fed on my front lawn. The first photo shows females and joey too big for the pouch at Potoroo Palace. The second photo is of a male in the wild. He was about my height (183cm - 6').
Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.
Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.
This photo below shows Alexandra Seddon at Potoroo Palace. She is holding a swamp wallaby (wallabia bicolor). I see more of this species of wallaby thank eastern grey kangaroos.
Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.
Here is one of the short videos I have made showing the Eastern Grey Kangaroo at Potoroo Palace.
Koalas
Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) rival kangaroos as the best known Australian animals. The first photo is of Suzie the Koala and the second of Blinky at Potoroo Palace in 2011. They were the parents of Sapphire. Blinky and Suzie passed away a few years back but Sapphire lives on a now is a mother. The video shares a little of Sapphire's life and includes her emerging from Suzie's Pouch. The video clip was made over two years from 2011 to 2013.
Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.
Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.
Did you notice Suzie has a much larger and more defined white patch on the chest? This is a feature of females.
Other Marsupials - Antechinus
There are so many marsupial species in Australia apart from wombats, kangaroos, wallabies and koalas, too many to show here but I thought I would add a little about one of the smallest marsupials. The photo shows a mammal expert holding an antechinus in his hand. It was taken when I was recording activities in a local biological/environmental survey.
Antechinus are the size of mice and are often mistaken for them but they are true marsupials and females have a pouched area to carry young. Antechinus have pointier snouts than placental mice (common mouse).
Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.
