THE TASMANIAN DEVIL

The Tasmanian Devil also referred to simply as "the devil", is a carnivorous marsupial now found in the wild only in the Australian island state of Tasmania.The Tasmanian Devil is the largest surviving carnivorous marsupial in Australia. It has a squat and thick build, with a large head and a tail which is about half its body length. The devil stores body fat in its tail, so unhealthy devils often have thin tails.

Tasmanian Devils can take prey up to the size of a small wallaby, but in practice they are opportunistic, and eat carrion more often than they hunt live prey. Although the devil favours wombats, it will eat all small native mammals, domestic mammals (including sheep), birds, fish, insects, frogs and reptiles. Their diet is largely varied and depends on the food available.

The Tasmanian Devil's current population is reported by Tasmania's Department of Primary Industries and Water as being in the range of 10,000 to 100,000 individuals, with 20,000 to 50,000 mature individuals being likely.

ANIMALS NATIVE FROM AUSTRALIA - KOALA

THE KOALA

The Koala is a thickset arboreal marsupial herbivore native to Australia. The Koala is broadly similar in appearance to the wombat (their closest living relatives), but has a thicker coat, much larger ears, and longer limbs. The Koala has large, sharp claws to assist with climbing tree trunks. Weight varies from about 14 kg for a large southern male, to about 5 kg for a small northern female. The Koala's five fingers are arranged with opposable thumbs, providing better gripping ability. The first two fingers are positioned in apposition on the front paws, and the first three fingers for the hind paws.

The Koala lives almost entirely on eucalypt leaves. The Koala will eat the leaves of a wide range of eucalypts, and occasionally even some non-eucalypt species such as Acacia Leptospermum, and Melaleuca.

Today, habitat loss and the impacts of urbanization (for example dog attacks and traffic accidents) are the leading threats to the survival of the Koala. In recent years, some colonies have been hard hit by disease, especially chlamydia. The Koala requires large areas of healthy, connected forest and will travel long distances along tree corridors in search of new territory and mates. The increasing human population of the coastal parts of the continent continues to cut these corridors by agricultural and residential development, forestry, and road-building, marooning Koala colonies in decreasing areas of bush.

ANIMALS NATIVE FROM AUSTRALIA - KANGAROO

THE KANGAROO

A kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning 'large foot'). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the Red Kangarooo, the Antilopine Kangarooo, and the Easternn and Western Grey Kangarooo of the Macropus genus. The family also includes many smaller species which include the wallabies, tree-kangaroos, wallaroos, pademelons and the Quokka, some 63 living species in all.

Kangaroos have large, powerful hind legs, large feet adapted for leaping, a long muscular tail for balance, and a small head. Like all marsupials, female kangaroos have a pouch called a marsupium in which joeys complete postnatal development. Different species of kangaroos have different diets, although all are strict herbivores.

The Eastern Grey Kangaroo is predominantly a grazer eating a wide variety of grasses whereas some other species (e.g. the Red Kangaroo) include significant amounts of shrubs in the diet. The smaller species of kangaroos also consume hypogeal fungi. Many species are nocturnal and crepuscular, usually spending the days resting in shade and the cool evenings, nights and mornings moving about and feeding.

ANIMALS NATIVE FROM ENGLAND_THE TAWNY OWL

THE TAWNY OWL

The Tawny Owl is found throughout Britain (with the exception of Ireland), most of Europe & Russia (though not the more northerly regions) through to Asia & China & some of the north of Africa. The earliest records of Tawny Owls in Britain date back to the Ice Ages. There are 12 sub-species of the Tawny Owl, those inhabitat the more northerly regions are anywhere up to 12% larger & 40% heavier than the sub-species native to the UK (Strix aluco sylvatica).

The Tawny Owl is the UK's largest breeding owl. The current UK population estimated at between 15,000 - 40,000 pairs, though some estimates but the population at 350,000 during winter. One aid to avoiding persecution, is the fact that it is largely nocturnal, making hunting difficult. It is very adaptable to changing circumstances & habitats, though the prevalence of Dutch Elm Disease reducing its nesting sites did take some toll. The use of pesticides had remarkably little affect on the population.

The Tawny Owl is nocturnal, roosting during the daytime in trees. It mainly preys on small rodents & roosting birds. Small invertebrates, including worms, will get eaten too. It is believed that they will also take fish out of garden ponds, when there is a scarcity of other food. Although normally silent in flight, Tawny Owls have been observed flying low over hedgerows beating their wings to disturb & flush out their prey, particularly roosting songbirds.

ANIMALS NATIVE FROM ENGLAND_GRASS SNAKE

THE GRASS SNAKE

The Grass Snake is found throughout England and Wales but gets extremely scarce in the north and there are no confirmed records from Scotland. It is absent from Ireland. It is Britain’s only egg laying snake. Females lay eggs in June or July, normally in rotting vegetation (such as a compost heap) which acts as an incubator. The eggs hatch into miniature versions of the adults in September.

The Grass Snake often comes into gardens, particularly in rural or semi-rural parts of the south, in search of fish or frogs from garden ponds or to use the compost heap to lay eggs in. A key part of the conservation strategy for this species is to educate and encourage tolerance amongst people lucky enough to have this species in their gardens. Grass Snakes are non-venomous and despite the fact that they hiss and strike they rarely bite. Their main defence is the fact that they are alert and extremely quick and usually make off before they are spotted. If cornered they can feign death, and if handled frequently, defecate producing a foul smelling excretion.

Grass Snakes are protected by law in Great Britain against being killed, injured or sold or traded in any way.

ANIMALS NATIVE FROM ENGLAND_RED KITE

There is a lot of wild life on England. Today, we are going to present you the most representative animals of England but there is something especial with these animals; the most of them are about to get extinguished.

One of the most beautiful animals is THE RED KITE

The red kite is a beautiful bird with a five-foot wingspan. It is easily identified by its russet, black and grey plumage and deeply forked tail. In Britain this spectacular bird of prey was once a common sight, but it was nearly wiped out by human persecution in the nineteenth century. Thanks to changing attitudes and intensive conservation efforts, red kites are once again a familiar sight in many parts of the UK

Red kites feed on all parts of dead animals and need calcium from bones in order to develop properly and stay healthy. Many people like to feed red kites as they want to help conserve them and enjoy seeing them on their land. However in areas with high prey densities such as the Chilterns, it is not necessary to do this. If red kites do not have a balanced diet they can suffer from serious dietary deficiencies, which may even lead to death in some cases.

Analysis of dead red kites by the Zoological Society of London has shown that some red kites are dying of lead poisoning. These deaths are a consequence of red kites eating shot animals which contain fragments of lead. Lead is an extremely toxic substance and even small amounts can cause severe health problems. It is therefore essential to avoid feeding red kites animal carcasses that have been shot unless you are absolutely certain that the ammunition used did not contain any lead.

ALL ABOUT ANIMALS

The place where you find everything you want to know about animals

Do you love animals?

Who did not want to have a dog as a child?

All the people like animals (at least see them)

This Blog will teach you all you want to know about animals of four different countries. Every week you will have the opportunity to learn about one country. We are going to start with England, then Australia, then NIGERIA and finally, but not less important, Jamaica.