Whistling tarantula Body length: 6 cm; Leg span: 16 cm BUT up to 22cm; Fangs: 1 cm long.

Known from Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia. They live in ground, in burrows from 40 to 100cm deep. They mainly eat insects, lizards, frogs, and other spiders. The Australian tarantula is known as whistling or barking spiders because of the sounds most species can produce. The noise is most readily produced when the spider is disturbed and takes up a threatening defensive pose - it may act as a deterrent against predators. The female lays about 50 eggs and the spiderlings have been observed feeding upon an insect provided by their mother, indicating some degree of maternal care in this species. Females may live up to twelve years, but the males usually die after mating at around five years of age. Females tend to be larger than males. The bite is painful, as the fangs are large and as long as those of many snakes. The venom will kill a cat or a dog in about 30 minutes. It will not kill a human but severe illness results and nausea and vomiting for six to eight hours have been reported from bites. Redback Spider Very small, being only 1cm large and the male even only 3-4mm. They are very common in urban areas. They feed on insects mostly but are able to capture quite large animals like snakes or small lizards. Female lays 250 eggs and only needs one to three weeks to be able to lay another ones. Only female are dangerous but they can cause serious illness and have caused deaths. The symptoms are severe pain, sweatening, muscular weakness, nausea and vomiting. Funnel-Web spider They are about 5cm large. There is more species of those spiders and the most dangerous called Sydney Funnel-Web spider as its venom is highly toxic and works quickly. In this case the male spiders are the more dangerous. There have not been reported any deaths caused by female, only male spiders. The reason for this is that the male spiders have venom different from the female spiders. The interesting thing here is that the venom is toxic only for humans and monkeys but not to other mammals. They live in burrows in ground as well as on trees. Another interesting fact about this cute thing is, that even though it cannot swim, it can survive 24-30hours under water, or floating on water. If you came across this in your swimming pool, do not touch it. Huntsman Web Spider The body length is only about 2cm but the leg span is up to 16cm. they can be found like everywhere under a rock, under loose bark on trees, in the ground. The bite of this spider may cause prolonged pain, headache, vomiting and irregular pulse rate.

Bird eating spider whistling tarantula Although its not usual for them to feed on something as big, this picture is claimed to be real. Joel Shakespeare, head spider keeper at the Australian Reptile Park said it build very strong webs where even birds may get caught and then the spider would use its venom to break down the bird for eating and what leaves if a food parcel. Published on telegraph.co.uk. Kangaroos Theres over 60 species of k in Aust. This one is the largest, red kangaroo, about 150cm high and up to 90kg. In the wild they live around 15 years. Their tale is 1 meter long. The can travel 65kph. The young kangaroo is called Joey. Mothers stop to feed their young at about 1 year of age but the joey will remain close to its mother for another 6 months. They can concentrate their urine to conserve water and thus can survive severe dehydration. They can regulate body temperature largely by panting and licking their forearms. They feed on wide variety of grasses during the night. They communicate with each other by thumping the ground with their legs to warn other members of their pack (mob). When males fight, they may appear to be boxing and if the fight gets worse, they start to kick, using tail to support their weight. Musky-rat Generally a solitary animal but sometimes can be found in a group of up to three. It is approximately 23cm long, has hairless tail and eats fallen fruit and large seeds. It moves like a rabbit. Wallaby This kangaroo is about 1 meter long body, tail and weight about 4 to 7kgs. It is a nocturnal animal. They feed on grass, flowering plants and herbs. Potoroos They are about 28cm large. First discovered in 1840 by naturalist John Gilbert and recorded again only a few times over the next 40 years, this small rat-kangaroo was thought to be extinct since the late 1870s until rediscovered in 1994. The youngs are in pouch for 4 months. Bettong Those are 23cm large and about 1,5kg. They feed primarily on fungi and various forms of vegetation when necessary. The youngs are in pouch until they are able to walk behind her mother. Wombat Adults weigh between 17 and 40kgs and body length between 80 and 130cm. They have short legs with long strong claws excellent for digging. They do tunnels in the ground from 2 to 2 meters in length. They are nocturnal animals but during cooler weather they can be seen in

late afternoon. They feed on grass, roots, moss and shrubs. It has a pouch similar to kangaroos. Wombats live around 5 years in the wilderness. They are endangered and protected. Tasmanian devil This is the largest carnivorous [ka:niv.r.s] animal (eating meat) marsupial [ma:sju:pi.l] (has pouch) in Australia. They are nocturnal animals. It lives alone and is a shy animal. It weights from 6 to 8kgs. It has very sharp teeth. By nature they are not aggressive until it comes to food. They prefer eating what they found no matter how old and rotten the dead animal is, but is more than able to kill. It also makes very loud noises to scare other Devils. The babies are born blind and deaf and little more than a grain of rice in size. Up to 50 is born who then race the distance of about 8cm from birth canal to the pouch where only 1 to 4 teats are available. They become independent after 6 months. Grey-headed flying fox Its the largest bat in Aust. They live in trees, like eucalypt forests and rainforests. Their wingspan is 1 meter and their weight is about 1kg. The reason why they hang head down is that their leg muscles are not very strong. Their wings are made of two layers of almost see through skin. During the day they literally hang out in trees in large numbers may be of thousands of individuals. They feed on flowers and fruits. The females carry the fetus 6 months. The baby is borned completely furred. They learn to fly at about 3 months and become independent about 5 months. Sugar glider About 40cm tall from nose to tail and weigh only 150 grams. It lives for about 9 years. It is named after its ability to glide through air effortlessly up to 100m. Those are nocturnal animals as well. They feed on gum and sup from eucalyptus as well as eating insects. The youngs are in pouch for 2 months, another month stay in a nest and then go for food under the guidance of mother or father. Koala The Koala is one of Australia's best known animals. It is an icon represented when promoting Australia to the tourist industry. Koalas are often referred to as a Koala bear. However they are not a bear. The name Koala comes from an Aboriginal word. It means "no drink", as Koalas get enough fluids through the eucalyptis leaves they feed on. They are very placid animals, and do not move around much, they are only active for about 2 hours of the day. Koalas feed on eucalyptis leaves, which they have a variety of twelve different species to choose from. This is basically the only thing they do eat, although there are a few exceptions. Koalas make an extremely loud and agressive growling noise. The baby Joey is born blind, hairless and less than an inch long. It then crawls into its mothers pouch and stays there for 6 months and becomes independent at the age of 1. Feral Camel

Those are not original to Australia, they were imported between 1840 and 1907 and were used for exploration and construction of rail and telegraph lines and also to supply goods to remote settlements. The feral camels in Australia are a mixture of 5 types of camels imported from China, Mongolia, Arabia and India. They can carry load of up to 800kgs and cover 70kms per day. Camels feed on grass and vegetation as high as 3.5m above ground. If water is available in summer, camels will drink regularly; in extreme drought, they need access to waterholes a dehydrated camel can drink 200 litres in three minutes. Contrary to legend, the hump is mostly fat, a store of energy rather than water. Female called cow is pregnant for 13 months and the young one becomes independent at about 18 months. In wild, they live for 40-50 years. They have no predators and die of high age or prolonged draught. As such they are cause for concern. The impact of camels on native plants and water is most pronounced during draughts when places close to waterholes become critical to the survival of a range of native animals and plants. Camels can quickly degrade these areas during a drought to the point where they may no longer provide any refuge for native plants and animals, perhaps leading to the local extinction of these species. Dingo It is not a native animal to Australia, the theories are that Dingos were brought to Australia 15,000 years ago by Koori people or they may be related to wild dogs in South East Asia, and taken to Australia for trade by sea-farers. They are meat eaters, and try to feed mainly on this. If unavailable, dingos have been known to eat reptiles, and any food source it can find. When food is scarce, dingos group together to feed on larger animals such as kangaroos. Dingos usually stay and hunt in family groups or solitare. They take lifetime mate and breeding takes place only once a year with the female dingo giving birth for 1 to 8 puppies. At the age of 4 months the puppies may start to try hunting small animals such as rabbits or rodents. Australian Fur Seal Males are much bigger than females. The bulls weigh up to 360kgs and are approximately 2m long and live for about 19 years. Females, cows, weigh up to 100kg and are about 1.7m in length. Their lifespan is roughly 21 years. They feed on small octopuses, fishes or lobsters. The cow is pregnant for one year and 6 days after giving birth mate again. The young fur seal is being taken care of for 10 11 months. Predators for them are sharks (for the smaller ones) and killer whales but those are rarely seen near to Australian Fur Seal colonies. Another threat for them is lack of food because of the commercial fishing, entanglement with fishing gear, swallowing plastic bags, thinking those are squids and toxic pollution/oil spills. The Australian Federal Government and State Governments have passed laws making it illegal to kill, hurt or harass any Australian Fur Seal or even own or sell any fur seal parts or products. All the breeding sites are protected wildlife reserves. Platypus Those are probably the weirdest animals, having a bill resembling the ducks (but in fact it is elongated snout (nose). The female hatches eggs but these animals are mammals. Body of P is 30 to 45 cm long and tail from 10 to 15. Their feet are webbed and body and tail covered with

fur of three layers. Inside layer serves to keep them warm, second layer as a wet suit and outer layer to feel if it is close to objects. This enables them to swim in water as cold as 0C. Underwater the Platypus has its eyes and ears shut. They might weigh from 1 to 2.4kgs. In wild they live for 12 years at least. They have toxic spurs inside their legs the venom can cause excruciating pain in humans and is strong enough to kill a dog. However it is restricted to males, which suggests that it is normally employed in fights among the males. They feed at night on insect larvae, shrimps and worms. These are stored in the cheek pouches and will be chewed after returning to the surface. The Platypuses can eat their own body weight in food in one night. Crocodile There are two types in A, salt and freshwater. This is the saltwater one. They can grow up to 7 meters and may weigh 1000kgs. However the usual measures are about 3m for female and 45m to male. 5m adults are closer to 400-500kg. They are believed to live 70-100years. The usual prey of younger ones are smaller animals, eg fishes, adults attack larger animals by overpowering them and drawing them fishes, turtles, birds and even mammals such as dingoes, domestic cattle or people. The female lays between 40 to 60 leathery eggs. The temperature at which the egg is kept determines the sex of the baby crocodile. If the egg is kept at 31.6 degrees Celsius it will be male. Hotter or colder it will be a female! The female guard them for 3 months until they break free from the egg, using a special egg tooth. Carefully carrying her young in her mouth she takes them to the water. In the wild only about 1% survive to be adult crocodiles. It is the World's largest reptile. Taipan This snake may grow over 3 metres and which makes them the largest Australian venomous snakes. A Taipan's diet consists of rats, lizards, bandicoots and small mammals. The Taipan swallows its prey whole and the animal is always deceased when they eat it. Taipan snake venom is one of the most potent of all known snake venoms. Toxin in the venom causes paralysis or muscle weakness. Their fangs are 12mm long. In single strike it would inject 60mg of the venom enough to quickly paralyse a small marsupial but also more than enough to wipe out several human adults. It essentially scrambles the nerves that carry electrical signals around the body.The toxin binds to the ends of the nerves, blocking electrical activity and shutting down communication between the brain and muscles. As the poison spreads the victim experiences headache, nausea, vomiting, pain in the belly and dizziness. Blurred vision follows, sometimes accompanied by convulsions and, in severe cases, coma. As if this were not bad enough, the venomis also a myotoxin, meaning it eats away at muscle tissue.The urine of a bite victim often turns reddish-brown as their muscles dissolve and are passed through the kidneys. Internal bleeding is the other major complication of taipan bites. The snake's second main toxin prevents blood-clotting. This causes persistent bleeding from the bite site. However it rarely attacks prays as big as human except for self-defence so let it go and it will let you go. Easter snake-necked turtle

The eastern snake necked turtle lives in swamps and slow moving waters and can live to be 50 years old. It measures up to 30 cm. Its extremely long neck can be the full length of the shell. This turtle is carnivorous its diet consists of insects, worms, tadpoles, frogs and small fish that it either swallows whole or shreds into pieces with its front paws. If disturbed, the turtle can emit a strong smell. The female turtle lays around 10 eggs which after three to five months hatch, if survived the water rats and lizards. Thorny devil They can grow to a total length of 20 cm. Despite the appearance, the spikes are soft and it is totally harmless animal. The Thorny Devil has the ability to change colour. If water falls on its back, it goes through canals on the back into devils mouth. They feed mostly on ants, catching it with its tongue, similarly to ant-eater. Emu Emus have extremely long legs enabling them to run fast. They stand 1 .5 to 2 meters tall and weigh up to 45 kg Male and females Emus look similar, though the female is usually larger. The Emu feeds mainly on green herbage like grass, flowers, seeds etc, but they also eat insects. They drink once to twice a day. Emus are most vulnerable as eggs or as hatchlings because lizards eat Emu eggs and young emus are hunted by Dingoes, eagles and non-native foxes, dogs & cats. The female lays the dark green eggs (5 to 20 eggs) on the 1 meter wide nest which is built of grass and weeds on the ground by the male. The eggs are incubated by the male for 8 weeks. During this period the male rarely leaves the nest, surviving on a layer of fat he built up prior to nesting. Once hatched the male cares for the hatchlings for further 6 to 9 months on average. Boobook owl It is the smallest owl in Aust and also most common there. The Boobook Owl preys on small birds and mammals such as the House Mouse and also insects, especially moths and nocturnal beetles. It lays small round white eggs and incubates them for a month. The male owl feeds both the female and the youngs for about 40 days until they gain feather. Kookaburra There are two species of K blue winged and laughing K. It is the largest kingfisherthe laughing K is famous for its laughing calls, which usually occur at dawn and dusk, and is in fact the kookaburra "marking out" its territory. They enjoy eating most ground-living insects, as well as mice, lizards and snakes. The blue winged K differ from the laughing by metallic blue wings and its call is a lot higher. Sulphur crested cockatoo Those are known for their extremely loud screeching. Their length ranges from 40 to 55cm and weight from 700 to 950 grams. They like to live in large groups, often numbering in hundreds. They feed on nuts, grain, berries, fruit flowers etc as well as small insects and their

larvae. They love to nest in high eucalypt cavity. Both parents are involved with nest building and bringing up the family. A typical nest will have up to 3 egg stake 30 days to hatch and the young take approximately 70 days to fledge. Rainbow Lorikeet This is the most striking coloured and noisy bird. May be 30cm long and weigh 120 to 140 grams. These birds spend a lot of time feeding and most of their food comes from trees, flowers, nectar, berries and fruits. Female lays 2 eggs and it take 25 days to hatch. Both parents help to feed youngs which fledge after 50 to 55 days. Little penguins Little or fairy for how small they are max 40cm and weigh around 1kg. They eat small fish, squid, plankton and sea horses and eat they prey whole. 2 eggs are laid at a time and take 36 days to hatch. Both male and female Little Penguins incubate the eggs. After 5 weeks they are forced from nest and naturally know how to swim so they begin to hunt for themselves. Their predators are sharks, seals, sea eagles and for the eggs the predators are rats, snakes and lizards. They usually mate for life (4 out of 5, 7 years). Linux logo. Blue-ringed octopus It starts life the size of a pea and is fully grown at about the size of a golf ball. They have a life span of approx. 2 years. Carry enough poison to kill 26 adults within minutes. The Blue Ring Octopus is not an aggressive animal and when disturbed it flattens out its body to hide and changes its body colour to blend into its surroundings. The female lays approximately 50 eggs in late Autumn. She carries her eggs around under her arms. Once the eggs have hatched after 3 - 6 months, the female dies. The young octopus develops rapidly, mature and mate early the following Autumn. The males then die and the female broods the eggs. It eats invertebrates (no bones) and wounded fish. The bite might be painless, but this octopus injects paralysing venom. The venom contains a poison more violent than any found on land animals. The nerve conduction is blocked and paralysis is followed by death. There's no known antidote. The only treatment is hours of heart massage and artificial respiration until the poison has worked its way out of your system. The poison gradually wears off after 24 hrs, apparently leaving no side effects. Box jelly fish Box Jellyfish are pale blue and transparent and bell or cubed shaped with four distinct sides, hence box jellyfish. Measuring up to 20 cm along each side of the cube or bell, the Box Jellyfish has up to as many as 15 tentacles on each corner which can be 3 metres in length with up to 5,000 stinging cells. Feeds on small fish. You have practically no chance of surviving the venomous sting. The pain is so excruciating and overwhelming that you would most likely go into shock and drown before reaching the shore.

Stone fish This creature has many venomous spikes along its back. The sting causes excruciating pain and a great deal of swelling rapidly develops causing death to tissues. The severity of the symptoms depends on the depth of penetration and the number of spines penetrated. The symptoms of the venom are muscle weakness, temporary paralysis and shock, which may result in death if not treated. Can kill a human in two hours. They inhabit shallow waters along the coast. The stonefish is well camouflaged in the ocean, as it is a brownish colour, and often resembles a rock. The stonefish feeds on other small fish or shrimp. Cone snail They have either a very thin or thick colourful cone shaped shell of varying stripes or speckled appearance. These shells can be very attractive and because of this, may be picked up by the unwary, especially children. Cone Shells or Cone snails as they are sometimes called have teeth like small harpoons and can penetrate clothing. They feed on marine organisms and worms. The venom can result in the death of humans. It causes weakness, lack of co-ordination and disturbed vision, hearing and speech. Sea Dragon There are two types, leafy and weedy. Sea dragons are not sea horses. They belong to the same family as sea horses but differ in 3 main ways - they have "appendages" from their body which look like ether weeds or leafs, they have no pouch for rearing the young (the male carries them in his tail) and their tail does not coil up or grab objects. Their eyes move independently of each other and they have no teeth or stomach. Leafy Seadragons have a maximum length of 35 cm and Weedy Seadragons have a maximum length of 45 cm. They feed mainly on crustaceans (kori). It is the male who carries the eggs. The female will deposit up to 250 eggsonto the males tail where they will stay for the next 6 to 8 weeks. The young are born over a period of days and over a wide area. Once born the young Seadragons are instantly independent of both father and mother.