A Z of funky animals A is for Axolotl! This crazy looking Mexican walking fish is actually the larvae of a salamander! B is for Bandicoot! Bandicoots look like rats and hop like kangaroos. They also make a lot of noise whuff whuff means they re annoyed! C is for Camel! There are now over a million feral camels living in the deserts of Australia. D is for Dingo! Did you know dingoes can turn door knobs? They are the only canine who have wrists that rotate. E is for Echidna! Echidnas have the lowest body temperature of all mammals at 32 degrees Centigrade. F is for Ferret! Ferrets sleep for 14 18 hours per day. Watch out when they re awake though they are Nature s burglars and love to steal things and hide them.
G is for Galah! Galah comes from the word gilaa which comes from the Yuwaalaraay language. That s a silly word isn t it? Maybe that s why in Australia, we use the word galah for a silly fool. H is for Hammerhead Shark! Young hammerheads are very vain they always want a good tan! They hang out close to the surface of the sea so they can turn black and look cool to the other sharks. I is for Iguana! Iguanas can survive falls of as much as 50 feet without even getting a bruise! They must have more lives than cats. J is for Jellyfish! Did you know Jellyfish have been around on the planet for over 500 million years? That s even before dinosaurs! K is for Kangaroo! A Mum kangaroo can decide whether to have a girl or a boy Joey and even put off when they re going to be born. L is for Lobster! Lobsters pee out of their faces bleeeuuurrrggghhh!
M is for Manta Ray! Manta rays have the largest brain to body weight ratio of any living fish giving it enough smarts to make the average dolphin jealous. N is for Numbat! This funky marsupial from WA has no pouch and eats up to 20,000 termites per day O is for Ostrich! The African Ostrich beats our native Emu in almost everything! They re the biggest bird in the world, lay the largest eggs and can run more than 10kms per hour faster than the Emu P is for Platypus! The funkiest creature of all! With no stomach, no teeth, one of only 2 mammals who lay eggs, preferring water to land and a venomous spur to boot, the Platypus was unsurprisingly thought to be a hoax when he was first discovered. Q is for Quoll! These little Australian cat like marsupials are only pregnant for a couple of weeks and can have up to 30 miniature babies
R is for Rainbow Lorikeet! This exotically beautiful bird is incredibly vocal and is often referred to as a parrot with attitude. Their agility and energy has been referred to as that of a monkey. S is for Spider! Let s say the Huntsman! These massive hairy crab spiders are the only ones that can run up vertical surfaces like walls. They re very fast and with 8 small eyes in 2 rows they will always be able to see you T is for Tasmanian Devil! This famously feisty little creature would actually rather run away than start a fight! Or may try and put off their foe by releasing a really stinky odour. They re also Super Devils capable of climbing trees and swimming rivers despite their small size. U is for Uguisi! The droppings of this little Japanese songbird is used in face cream. Bleeuurgh! V is for Venomous Snakes! We have the second worst right here in South Australia with the Eastern Brown so be careful when you re hiking in the bush!!
W is for Wombat! The Wombat s bottom is a wonderful thing! Not only does it produce cube shaped poop, it s also tough as! When threatened, a wombat dives headfirst into a tunnel, blocking the entrance with its sturdy rump with also no significant tail it s difficult for a predator to grab on. X is for Xerus! A bit like a Meerkat but with a bushier tail this ground squirrel lives in Africa and is very social hanging out in big groups. Y is for Yabbie! These popular crayfish are now often kept as pets. They re scavengers of the river bed and the female can lay up to 1,000 eggs at a time. Z is for Zonkey! Cos what could be better than a stripey donkey