4 November 2019 - STRANGE POUCH ANIMALS IN AUSTRALIA

STRANGE POUCH ANIMALS

 IN AUSTRALIA

G'day folks,

Yep, we have some weird and wonderful animals in Australia. We also have some weird and wonderful people as well.

The Continent of Australia is a zoological marvel, housing some of the world’s most bizarre and unique creatures, including the egg-laying platypus, some of the largest spiders in the world, the cassowary, a dangerous horned bird and the emu, a cousin of the ostrich that has somehow wound up in faraway Australia. But perhaps most interestingly, Australia and its neighboring islands are home to most of the world’s species of marsupials, with the exception of the American opossums.

Marsupials, or pouch mammals, are a fascinating family of animals that differ greatly from fellow mammals in several major ways, the most obvious being their reproductive system. 

 Apart from possessing several genitalia (females have three while males have two), pregnancy in marsupials is incredibly short, typically lasting mere weeks, and they give birth to underdeveloped, hairless and blind young that are about the size of a jellybean. The helpless young crawl on the mother’s fur and enter a pouch where they stay and feed on milk for months until they are sufficiently large and can begin fending for themselves.

But, beyond all of the sciency stuff, marsupials are just gosh-darn adorable! Have a look at some of these cute Australian critters:

 Clancy's comment: There ya go. Now, click on the kangaroo link below and watch this incredible video on the birth of a kangaroo. I'ts truly amazing.

KANGAROO

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