Australian Animals

EMMA: Good day, Earth Rangers. It's me, Earth Ranger Emma. I've got an exciting episode to share with you today. We'll be learning all about the Land Down Under. That's right, Australia. It's one cool country, full of weird, wacky, and wonderful animals. Crikey, what are we waiting for? Let's get started.

SPEAKER 2: Earth Rangers.

SPEAKER 3: Earth Rangers.

SPEAKER 4: Earth Rangers.

[HOWLING]

EMMA: In order to find out more about Australian wildlife-- and I think we definitely need some more info because just the other week I heard that wombats have cube-shaped poop. I know, right? That can't be real. I think we'll have to call my buddy Safari Guide Lawrence from the Animal Sound Safari podcast.

LAWRENCE: Hello?

EMMA: Hi, Lawrence? It's Emma calling from Canada.

LAWRENCE: Good day, Emma. How are you doing?

EMMA: Pretty good. I was hoping you could answer some questions about Australian animals for our listeners.

LAWRENCE: Sure thing. Fire away.

EMMA: OK, cool. So my first question is, what is a marsupial?

LAWRENCE: So marsupials are a group of mammals known for carrying their babies around in their pouch. Imagine a fleshy, furry sack with nipples inside. They come in all different shapes and sizes and live in forests, lakes, streams, grasslands, and even underground. There are hundreds of different species. But the marsupials you've probably heard of are possums, koalas, wombats, and kangaroos.

EMMA: It's true. And what are baby kangaroos called again?

LAWRENCE: Baby kangaroos are called joeys.

EMMA: Right. Wait, how long does a baby kangaroo stay in its mother's pouch?

LAWRENCE: That's a good question. They stay in their mother's pouch for between 8 to 11 months. Joeys start to leave the pouch at six months to explore. But that's only for short trips. They come back to the pouch for their mom's milk, for safety, and sometimes just for a power nap.

EMMA: [CHUCKLES] Power nap.

LAWRENCE: The thing about kangaroo pouches is that because the joeys spend a lot of time in them, they get pretty full of dirt.

EMMA: What?

LAWRENCE: And poop.

EMMA: Ew!

LAWRENCE: Oh, so much poop. So the mama roo regularly has to clean it out.

EMMA: Oh, no, that's super gross. So how many different marsupials are there in Australia?

LAWRENCE: Well, Emma, there are actually hundreds of species of marsupials all over the world. They live in a lot of different places, like South America and New Guinea. But most of them live here in Australia. I'm talking koalas, numbats, wombats, Tasmanian devils, long-tailed pygmy possums, balbaroos, bandicoots, black wallaroos, black-flanked wallabies.

EMMA: Hold up. It sounds like you're just naming creatures from Dr. Seuss novels now.

LAWRENCE: No, no, no, no, no. I mean, there's also spotted quolls, eastern quolls, western quolls, northern quolls, tiger quolls.

EMMA: OK, OK, OK. I get it. There's a lot of them. Got you. So tell me something else. Is it true that wombat poop is cube shaped?

LAWRENCE: It sure is. Wombats are the only animal in the world-- well, that we know of-- that have cube-shaped poop.

EMMA: [LAUGHING] Right. But why?

LAWRENCE: One theory was that they poo cubes to stack them up and mark their territory without the pieces rolling away. But in reality, they don't really make walls or pyramids with their poo. They just poo for the sake of pooping.

EMMA: Got you. So what is the most dangerous creature to live in Australia?

LAWRENCE: Oh that is a hard one. I mean, we actually have a lot of dangerous creatures here. In the water, we have sharks, sea snakes, and saltwater crocodiles, which have the strongest bite ever measured. On land, we've got some of the most poisonous snakes and spiders in the world. But now that I think about it, the most dangerous creature is probably a type of box jellyfish called the Irukandji.

EMMA: Oh, how do you guys even survive?

LAWRENCE: Yeah, there are a lot of dangerous creatures here. But they're just another reason you should come to visit. You're not going to find them anywhere else.

EMMA: That's true. And I am definitely not scared, mm-mm. So Lawrence, what's your favorite Australian animal?

LAWRENCE: Oh, definitely the platypus. They are one of only five species of monotremes on Earth. And monotremes are the only mammals that lay eggs.

EMMA: Right!

LAWRENCE: Did you know that because of their interesting appearance, scientists use to think that they were fake?

EMMA: What?

LAWRENCE: Some even thought that the platypus was just a bunch of animals sewed together, which I guess makes sense if you've never seen a platypus before.

EMMA: Right.

LAWRENCE: Great chatting with you, Emma.

EMMA: Thanks so much, Lawrence.