Some Local Wildlife Visitors
When I first started posting, and getting to know all you lovely people on my f-list, I promised maria_lynette I'd post some pics of the wildlife that comes visiting me, my neighbours and the park behind my property.
All I'd managed so far, was a pic (NOT the actual critter, as I was busy freezing in place at the time as it slithered down my leg and around my foot) of the type of venomous snake I had a close encounter with - a beautiful creature, but not the only visitors I get.
I kept forgetting, but finally - here they are.
These are pics of what we call the 'Rip Van Winkle' family - they're wallaroos. They stand around 4-5 foot high, and are marsupials. Obviously, they're members of the same family as kangaroos, but smaller, and live in small family groups, unlike kangaroos, who live in mobs (yes, that's the term for a group of them) that consist of a harem of does, and a dominant buck.
The dad has a rip on his ear, hence the name Rip, the mum we call Vanessa, as she looks quite glamourous with the markings around her eyes that look like eyeliner, and the baby is called Winkle. So they're the Rip Van Winkles.
When we first started seeing them, you rarely saw Winkle, as he was still mostly in his mum's pouch, but he's quite a big boy now, and doesn't fit in his mum's pouch any more, but still can be seen sometimes with his head stuck in there, having a drink of his mum's milk (kangaroos have two nipples in their pouches).
Pretty soon, in about 6 months or so, he'll leave the family group and go off on his own, to find a mate - I hope he still comes to visit, though, so I get to see his new family. I've grown quite fond of him. They often come down in the afternoon and evening from the ridge behind me, to have a munch on the grass in the park and in our yards, and to drink at the creek.
Here's Rip -
Here's a good shot of Vanessa and Winkle (with a lovely view of Rip's bum)
And here's little Winkle - isn't he gorgeous?
Here's a lovely family group pic of the 'Rip Van Winkles' - looks posed, doesn't it? lol
And here's some general shots
And here's some of a lovely little echidna that visited about 2 months ago - he was only passing through, so hasn't got a name... but he's very sweet.
The Echidna (pronounced ee-kid-nah), is named, quite unfairly, I think, after the creature in Greek mythology, half woman, half snake, that had supposedly mothered all monsters. Poor little buggers - they're so cute and harmless, too.
We see quite a few of these around, but they're usually very shy, and you just catch a glimpse of them as they're disappearing into the bush. This little fellow, however, was having a lovely munch on a trail of ants, and didn't seem to mind us, as he enjoyed his lunch.
Echidnas are one of the only two monotremes that still (to our knowledge) exist. They're an ancient form of mammal, in that they're warm blooded, exude milk from glands on their bellies (but don't have nipples - the young lap it up off their skin) and... THEY LAY EGGS!
Yep! They usually lay two eggs, a bit smaller than the size of a pingpong ball, with a leathery shell, and carry them in a shallow pouch - more of a fold of skin, really. Once the eggs hatch, they young stay in the pouch for a short time, only venturing out to lap their mother's milk, until they're big enough to get around by themselves. Then they usually stay in their burrow until their spines are developed enough to protect them, and go out venturing with mum.
They eat ants, termites and grubs of various sorts, and have very strong front legs with extremely sharp claws that they use to dig into ant and termite nests, and burrow and dig for grubs. Those spines are very sharp, and if they're threatened, they curl into a ball, making it almost impossible for anything to attack them successfully. They grow to about 2 foot at the most.
These shots turned out really well, courtesy of my friend, Julie's whoopty doo camera (she's a professional photographer, and has a major exhibition coming up later this year), and so they turned out much better than if taken with my little general use digital. I think he's a male, or maybe a young female, as the females are bigger than the males, usually. This one was about 18 inches long. He's such a cutie!
Well, enough waffling, here he is:
The only other monotreme is the platypus, which doesn't have a pouch, as they're semi aquatic, a bit like otters, I guess you'd say. They live in burrows in river and creek banks. We have them living down the creek behind my property, but they're very shy, and you have to be very patient to get a shot of them, usually. I'll see what I can do though. I've seen a couple around, but I've never had my camera when I have.
This isn't one of our locals, but I thought I'd add a pic for those that haven't seen one - they're a very unique animal, and when news of them and a stuffed specimen was first seen in England, many people accused that they were a hoax, made up of different animal parts. They were nearly hunted to extinction for their thick, water resistant fur, but luckily, they're now protected, and are once again in pretty good numbers. Well, here's what they look like:
Platypii are unique in that the males are the only venomous mammal. They have spurs attached to venom glands on their hind legs, and the venom, though not fatal, can cause extreme pain, apparently. They use them for duelling over females in the mating season.
Well, hope you enjoyed the wildlife piccies - I'll post more if I get some decent ones - we have a mob of grey kangaroos that come down and munch, too - and now it's coming into winter here, they'll be down more often, before the snow hits, so I'll try and get some shots of those, too.
All I'd managed so far, was a pic (NOT the actual critter, as I was busy freezing in place at the time as it slithered down my leg and around my foot) of the type of venomous snake I had a close encounter with - a beautiful creature, but not the only visitors I get.
I kept forgetting, but finally - here they are.
These are pics of what we call the 'Rip Van Winkle' family - they're wallaroos. They stand around 4-5 foot high, and are marsupials. Obviously, they're members of the same family as kangaroos, but smaller, and live in small family groups, unlike kangaroos, who live in mobs (yes, that's the term for a group of them) that consist of a harem of does, and a dominant buck.
The dad has a rip on his ear, hence the name Rip, the mum we call Vanessa, as she looks quite glamourous with the markings around her eyes that look like eyeliner, and the baby is called Winkle. So they're the Rip Van Winkles.
When we first started seeing them, you rarely saw Winkle, as he was still mostly in his mum's pouch, but he's quite a big boy now, and doesn't fit in his mum's pouch any more, but still can be seen sometimes with his head stuck in there, having a drink of his mum's milk (kangaroos have two nipples in their pouches).
Pretty soon, in about 6 months or so, he'll leave the family group and go off on his own, to find a mate - I hope he still comes to visit, though, so I get to see his new family. I've grown quite fond of him. They often come down in the afternoon and evening from the ridge behind me, to have a munch on the grass in the park and in our yards, and to drink at the creek.
Here's Rip -
Here's a good shot of Vanessa and Winkle (with a lovely view of Rip's bum)
And here's little Winkle - isn't he gorgeous?
Here's a lovely family group pic of the 'Rip Van Winkles' - looks posed, doesn't it? lol
And here's some general shots
And here's some of a lovely little echidna that visited about 2 months ago - he was only passing through, so hasn't got a name... but he's very sweet.
The Echidna (pronounced ee-kid-nah), is named, quite unfairly, I think, after the creature in Greek mythology, half woman, half snake, that had supposedly mothered all monsters. Poor little buggers - they're so cute and harmless, too.
We see quite a few of these around, but they're usually very shy, and you just catch a glimpse of them as they're disappearing into the bush. This little fellow, however, was having a lovely munch on a trail of ants, and didn't seem to mind us, as he enjoyed his lunch.
Echidnas are one of the only two monotremes that still (to our knowledge) exist. They're an ancient form of mammal, in that they're warm blooded, exude milk from glands on their bellies (but don't have nipples - the young lap it up off their skin) and... THEY LAY EGGS!
Yep! They usually lay two eggs, a bit smaller than the size of a pingpong ball, with a leathery shell, and carry them in a shallow pouch - more of a fold of skin, really. Once the eggs hatch, they young stay in the pouch for a short time, only venturing out to lap their mother's milk, until they're big enough to get around by themselves. Then they usually stay in their burrow until their spines are developed enough to protect them, and go out venturing with mum.
They eat ants, termites and grubs of various sorts, and have very strong front legs with extremely sharp claws that they use to dig into ant and termite nests, and burrow and dig for grubs. Those spines are very sharp, and if they're threatened, they curl into a ball, making it almost impossible for anything to attack them successfully. They grow to about 2 foot at the most.
These shots turned out really well, courtesy of my friend, Julie's whoopty doo camera (she's a professional photographer, and has a major exhibition coming up later this year), and so they turned out much better than if taken with my little general use digital. I think he's a male, or maybe a young female, as the females are bigger than the males, usually. This one was about 18 inches long. He's such a cutie!
Well, enough waffling, here he is:
The only other monotreme is the platypus, which doesn't have a pouch, as they're semi aquatic, a bit like otters, I guess you'd say. They live in burrows in river and creek banks. We have them living down the creek behind my property, but they're very shy, and you have to be very patient to get a shot of them, usually. I'll see what I can do though. I've seen a couple around, but I've never had my camera when I have.
This isn't one of our locals, but I thought I'd add a pic for those that haven't seen one - they're a very unique animal, and when news of them and a stuffed specimen was first seen in England, many people accused that they were a hoax, made up of different animal parts. They were nearly hunted to extinction for their thick, water resistant fur, but luckily, they're now protected, and are once again in pretty good numbers. Well, here's what they look like:
Platypii are unique in that the males are the only venomous mammal. They have spurs attached to venom glands on their hind legs, and the venom, though not fatal, can cause extreme pain, apparently. They use them for duelling over females in the mating season.
Well, hope you enjoyed the wildlife piccies - I'll post more if I get some decent ones - we have a mob of grey kangaroos that come down and munch, too - and now it's coming into winter here, they'll be down more often, before the snow hits, so I'll try and get some shots of those, too.