Australian reptiles and dangerous creatures

Snakes, lizards, and crocodiles are reptiles that like to live in the warm climate of Australia. Crocodiles live in rivers in the north. Snakes mostly poisonous live nearly everywhere in Australia. More than 500 different kinds of lizards live in Australia. Some look scary but none are poisonous. The frill necked lizard tries to look bigger to frighten its enemies. It shows its frill stands on its hind legs and hisses. The Australian taipan is one of the most poisonous snakes in the world.

Australian dangerous animals include poisonous spiders. The funnel web spider and the red back spider both have poisonous fangs but they catch their food using their web. A bit from the funnel web spider can kill a person if they don’t receive an antidote quickly. The dingo is a wild dog and is Australia’s largest predator. Dingoes hunt and eat wallabies, young kangaroos, and sheep. The Tasmanian devil is a carnivorous marsupial cat. It lives in caves on the island of Tasmania.

The Tasmanian devil uses its strong teeth and jaws to crush small animals. It eats everything – fur, feathers and bone. Fierce Tasmanian devils even eat dead animals.

Australian birds

Australia has 700 species of native birds. Two of them, the cassowary and the emu, have strong legs and can run as fast as cars in the city traffic. Neither bird can fly. Emu chicks lose their stripes as they grow older.

The kookaburra is famous for its laughing call, which tells other kookaburras to keep away. Kookaburras eat insects and small animals such as lizards. They even eat snakes.

Flocks of parrot are one of Australia most colorful sights. These beautiful birds include budgerigars, galahs and cockatiels.

Most Australians parrot lay their eggs in hollow trees or branches. They eat seeds, fruits, nectar and insects. Some also eat pollen brightly colored rainbow lorikeets have slender bills to help them eat nectar and pollen.

Rhynochocyon udzumgwensis

This grotesquely looking creature was discovered in African country. It is named as Rhynochocyon udzumgwensis. This was first found in Ndundulu forest in Tanzania’s udzungwa mountains in 2005 by a camera trap. It is of giant shrew type and this cat sized animal looks like a cross between a small antelope and a small ant eater. To describe about its physical appearance: it has a grey face, elastic snout, amber colored body, jet-black rump and it stands on spindly legs. This mammal weighs about 700g and 30 cm in length. This animal uses its long nose to flick insect for its living. This animal cannot be related to dog or cat you interact with but this has unusual look and their behavioral category is so unique and interesting.

What is an animal of Australia?

An animal of Australia lives only in Australia. It is called a native animal because it lived there before the first people came. Australia is an enormous continent in the South Seas. It has surrounded by vast oceans for millions of years.

A marsupial is an animal that carries its baby in a pouch. Australia has more marsupials than anywhere else in the world.

Marsupial babies are very small when they are born. The baby crawls through its mother’s fur and into her pouch. The pouch is like a pocket that protects the baby until it is big enough to survive on its own. Inside the pouch the baby feeds on its mother’s milk.

Kangaroos are large marsupials with strong back legs and small front paws. Koalas are small marsupials that live in eucalyptus or gum trees. The diprotodan was the biggest marsupial that ever lived in Australia. It looked like a wombat but was as big as rhinoceros. Wallabies, euros and wallaroos are all smaller members of the kangaroo family.

Lord Howe Island Stick Insect

Scientific Name: Drycocelus Australis

Common Names: Lord Howe Island Phasmid, Land Lobster

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Hexapoda

Order: Phasmatodea

Family: Phasmatidae

Lord Howe Island Stick insect is a heavy bodied insect which looks honey brown in color. It has white streak along its side. These nocturnal species lack the ability to fly. The growth capacity of the adult is up to 15 cm and it weighs about 25g. Female Howe weighs the most than the male and it also has a hook on its leg which stronger. Howe can easily walk and run in the ground while other insects find difficult for it.

On an average the female hawe is capable of laying 300 eggs in her lifetime. Usually the stick insects lay eggs in the tree and allow the eggs to fall to the ground. But female hawe bury its abdomen into the soil to lay eggs. The eggs are 4 mm long. Before hatching the eggs nurture under the soil for six and a half months. Young ones of the hawe appear in bright green color.

These insects have forested areas as their habitat. They also shelter themselves in a hollow place formed by the plant debris.

Woodchucks

Woodchucks are common and abundant in Massachusetts. They are found everywhere in the state except on Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. Often called "groundhogs" or "whistle-pigs," they are not in the pig family at all. Woodchucks are burrowing members of the squirrel family (Sciuridae), which includes tree squirrels, flying squirrels, and chipmunks. In the western U.S., there are five related species called "marmots."

Description:

Woodchucks (Marmota monax) are medium-sized, chunky, ground-dwelling squirrels. Males are larger than females, but otherwise the sexes look similar. Adults measure 20-27½ inches in total length, with the tail averaging 4-7 inches. Adult weight will vary widely through the year, from an average of 7 pounds in the early spring to an average of 10½ pounds in the fall. This is because they are deep hibernators, and their weight will differ substantially between den entry and emergence.

The woodchuck has rather coarse, reddish-brown fur grizzled with guard hairs that are gray with yellow tips; brown or black tail, legs, and feet; and a black face. Melanistic (black) animals occur but are uncommon. Woodchucks have short powerful legs and short ears. The incisor teeth grow continually and must be worn down when feeding or else the tooth will grow to a length that injures or impairs the animal.

Habitat:

Woodchucks are an "edge" species, living in hedgerows or brush clumps along old fields, pastures, or croplands intermixed with small woodlands. Burrows are dug in well-drained soil along woodland edges and brushy hedgerows, often on rather steep slopes. The animal will also burrow under sheds, porches, decks, or walkways. Burrows are a critical feature of their life style, and typically include multiple entrances. The main shaft may be up to 50 feet in length, with many side passages. The 'chuck usually piles up a mound of dirt and rocks at the burrow entrance, but the entry may otherwise be well-concealed.

Foods:

Woodchucks are generalist plant feeders, consuming a wide variety of herbaceous (soft or leafy) vegetation. Studies in Maryland identified 34 plants while a study in Pennsylvania found 46 that were eaten by woodchucks. Clover, wild lettuce, grasses, chickweed, and dandelion appeared among the preferred species. The animals also readily eat hay grasses, alfalfa, corn, and a variety of common garden or commercial crops. Woodchucks readily climb trees and may feed on leaves of certain species, such as mulberry. They may also gnaw woody stems or trees, primarily in spring.

Reproduction:

Woodchucks mate in March and April shortly after emergence from hibernation. They can first breed as yearlings (i.e., in their second summer), however only 20-40% of female yearlings do breed. The tiny, feeble young are born in the burrows after a gestation period of 30-32 days. Based on data from studies of captive animals, litter size averages four to five young. The pups emerge from the den at about 33 days and are weaned at about 42 days.

Activity:

Woodchucks are typically daytime animals. During most of the year, their activity peaks in mid-morning and again in the late afternoon, but declines at mid-day. Early and late in the season they may be active only in the afternoon. They enter hibernation in late fall and emerge in early spring. The hibernation period is about 4-4½ months in Pennsylvania and 5 months in upper New York. Their home range is determined by food availability, but is typically between ¾-2¼ acres. Home ranges of adult males may overlap those of females, but usually not those of other males. Woodchucks disperse from their birth area when less than 1 year old, females traveling perhaps ¼ mile and males mile. Woodchucks are quite wary and on the alert around their burrow entrance and while feeding.

Pig Fights Lion, Jaguar

Flying Mammals Bats

The vegetarians

Australia has some of the world's largest fruit bats. Many of these can be seen throughout the Wet Tropics, particularly at dusk when they leave their camps in the trees to forage for food during the night. Their main diet is nectar and fruits and they play a vital role in the dispersal of rainforest seeds. They will also take pollen and help to cross-pollinate flowers as they lap nectar. These bats are common in backyard gardens, too - especially when the pawpaws (papaya) have ripened!

The most common is the Spectacled Flying-fox (Pteropus conspiculatus) which boasts a wingspan of roughly one metre (3 feet). A good place to see these impressive bats rise up from the canopy and depart for their daily feed is from a boat on the Daintree River. There are many areas though, even in the inner suburbs of Cairns, where flying foxes can be seen hanging from tree branches during the day. A single young is produced in late spring and females are capable of reproduction at two years of age. These bats have excellent vision and sense of smell and can travel up to 20km in one night in search of food.

Not all the fruit bats are so large. They range in size down to the tiniest Queensland species, the Blossom Bat (Syconmycteris australis), with a body only 5cm (2 inches) long and weighing in at a meagre 15 grams (half an ounce). It shelters under leaves during the day but at night, its pointed snout and brush tongue (similar to the lorikeets) allow it to feast on the nectar hidden deep in flowers, making it an important specialist pollinator of the rainforest.

Some other flying-foxes to look for in this area are the Black (Pteropus alecto), the Little Red (Pteropus scapulatus) and the striking Tube-nosed (Nyctimene robinsoni), easily identified by the yellow spots on its wings.

The insect terminators

The Blossom Bat described above might be a heavyweight compared to some of the insect eating bats! These are the sonar-equipped bats whose calls sound like high pitched shrieks and clicks. Another name for them is microbats (as opposed to the fruit bats which are also called megabats).

There are many species of microbats and identification often requires trapping and detailed examination by an expert. Sophisticated technology is also being used to identify bats by electronic signature analysis of their calls. The majority of microbats roost in caves but several species use tree hollows, tunnels, roofs and under loose tree bark. Most of these bats are very small, having bodies as light as 4 grams (.15 of an ounce) although many of the Wet Tropics species are about 20 grams (.7 of an ounce) and are 4 to 6 cm (1 ½ to 2 ½ inches) long.

Insectivorous bats are usually seen around streetlights at dusk and appear like large, fast flying insects themselves, whirling and turning as they use their sonar to catch insects in mid-flight. When spotlighting in the forest, flashlight beams can attract moths, which in turn, attract microbats. Flashes of their wings can be seen as the bats pursue their prey through the beam of light.

We hear so many reports of wildlife facing extinction, that the story of the Tube-nosed Insectivorous Bat is welcome news. Once credited with being Australia’s rarest mammal, this tiny microbat (it weighs 8 grams) has made a dramatic reappearance thanks to new research techniques. Until 1994 only six of these bats had ever been caught, all of them in the Wet Tropics. But with new trapping techniques - in particular a harp trap of superfine fishing line which fools their sonar, and recent major advances in bat call detection, sensitivity and analysis - many more of these bats have been found in various locations around the World Heritage Area. Tiny transmitters also have been used to track animals to communal nesting sites and learn more about their behaviour. While the bat is still classified as rare, scientific research has been able to shed new light on how we can protect its habitat to help ensure its continuing survival.

The Tree Kangaroos

Lucky you are if you come across a tree-kangaroo in the forest and actually get to see it! Often, the only evidence of a tree-kangaroo's presence is the sudden crash of leaves and branches followed by a thud as the very shy tree-kangaroo jumps from its lofty hiding spot and flees into the bush. Some tree-kangaroo sightings are simply that of a long, brown furry tail disappearing into the undergrowth.

The Wet Tropics is home to Lumholtz's and Bennett's Tree-kangaroos. Both stand no more than 60cm (2 feet) tall but their tails are almost a metre (3 feet) long. They spend most of their time in the tree canopy feeding on leaves and fruits.

The Lumholtz's Tree-kangaroo

Lumholtz's Tree-kangaroo (Dendrolagus lumholtzi) occurs mostly at high altitudes between Kirrama (in the southern Wet Tropics area) to Mt Spurgeon (in the northern Wet Tropics but south of the Daintree River). A generally solitary animal, small groups of up to four can sometimes be seen. A single young is produced and there appears to be no specific breeding season. It is nocturnal and spends the day crouched on a branch sleeping.

The Bennett's Tree-kangaroo

Bennett's Tree-kangaroo - Photo by Michael ProcivA little larger than Lumholtz's Tree-kangaroo is the Bennett's Tree-kangaroo (Dendrolagus bennettianus). It resides at high and low altitudes north of the Daintree River in an area of only about 70km by 50km (44 miles by 31 miles).

Possums and Gliders

The Wet Tropics region supports the highest possum diversity in Australia. This exceptional diversity is even more extraordinary in that there are five possums which are endemic (found nowhere else). All of them except one - the Mahogany Glider - are rainforest specialists. They are the Herbert River Ringtail (Pseudocheirus herbertensis), the Lemuroid Ringtail (Hemibelideus lemuroides) brown and rare white colour morph, the Green Ringtail (Pseudochirops archeri) and the Daintree Ringtail (Pseudocheirus cinereus).

The rainforest species are restricted to the uplands and, as a consequence, they occur as a number of isolated populations. One example is the Lemuroid Possum which occurs only above 550 metres on the Atherton Tablelands but which has a smaller population on the Carbine Tablelands. The Carbine population of the Lemuroid occurs only above 1,000 metres and is characterised by many more "white" furred individuals.

Other possums and gliders can also be found in the Wet Tropics:

* the black and white Striped Possum;
* the tiny Long-tailed Pygmy Possum also found in New Guinea;
* the Squirrel, Greater, Feathertail and Sugar Gliders;
* the Yellow-bellied Glider, also sometimes called the Fluffy Glider;
* the Coppery Brushtail (a colour form of the very common Brushtail Possum which ranges down the east coast of Australia);and
* the Common Ringtail.

Mahogany GliderThe critically endangered Mahogany Glider (Petaurus gracilis) was thought to have been extinct since the 1800's but a living specimen was found in 1989. This glider is not rainforest dependent and prefers low woodland on swampy coastal plains, beach ridges and Melaleuca swamps. It eats nectar, tree sap, tree gum, lichens and invertebrates. This glider has been the subject of a government program to buy back critical habitat for the species as land clearing is the greatest threat to the glider's survival and most of its range falls outside the protective status of World Heritage.

Green Ringtail - Photo by Mike TrenerryThe Green Ringtail is so named for the strange illusion of colour provided by the black, yellow and white banding on each hair of its thick fur. It is easy to recognize during spotlighting as it has white patches below its ears and eyes. This possum's diet consists almost entirely of low protein, high fibre leaves, especially those of fig trees, and will also take ripe figs. The Green is the most solitary of the possums and does not have a den. It sleeps on branches by curling itself forward so that it resembles a large furry ball. This lack of a den may also explain why its single young clings to its mother's back longer than any other possum. Predators of this quiet and sedate possum include the Rufous Owl, the Spotted-tailed Quoll and the Amethystine Python.

The emblem of the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service is an attractive black and white ringtail possum from upland and highland altitudes. The Herbert River Ringtail is also known affectionately as 'Herbie'. This ringtail likes leaves with a very high protein content, unlike the Green Ringtail. Their den is usually in a tree hollow or in large epiphytic ferns. Two young are produced and after nearly four months, they are ready to leave the pouch. The brown juveniles only require another two weeks being carried on their mother's back before they are ready to strike out on their own.

The White-tailed Rat

While most rodents will make a hasty retreat from human visitors, one not so easily intimidated is the White-tailed Rat (Uromys caudimaculatus). This large rat has a body length of 30cm (1 foot) and the end half of its 33cm (13 inch) tail is white and without fur (which is the easiest way to identify them). The White-tailed Rat can be seen on the forest floor at night but it is just as likely to be seen climbing around tree branches. Although most rodents are known for their powerful teeth, this one can eat through the hardest of seed coats. The next time you find a coconut on the ground with a perfectly round hole about 2 cm (3/4 inch) in diameter drilled through it, you will know that a White-tailed Rat found it first!

Another ground-dweller is quite the predator. An attractive but elusive night-time hunter of both the forest floor and the canopy is the Spotted-tailed Quoll, also known as the Tiger Quoll. There are two species of quoll in the Wet Tropics: the northern subspecies of the Spotted-tailed Quoll (Dasyurus maculatus gracilis) and the smaller Northern Quoll (D. hallucatus). They are well known for their aggressive dispositions, described in books as "pugnacious", "ferocious" and "savage". The Quoll is a carnivore, preferring rodents, small macropods, birds and reptiles, although large insects, some fruit and even carrion is included in their diet. The Quolls are not quite standard marsupials in that they don't have a real pouch. During breeding season, the skin around the female's nipple area extends into a flap which partially covers the young. Females have 6 teats but the number of young born can range from one to eight. Young remain in the pseudo-pouch for several weeks before being left in a nest hollow or cave and attended to by the female. Independence is usually reached by 18 weeks and sexual maturity is at one year.

There are many other mammals to look for in the Wet Tropics such as Melomys (native rats), Hydromys (the water rat whose fine swimming abilities evoke images of the river otter), Northern Brown Bandicoots (often seen darting across roads at night), their paler rainforest cousins the Long-nosed Bandicoot, Agile Wallabies (look for them hanging around the golf courses of the Northern Beaches area of Cairns), and the adorable Red-legged Pademelon.

The Tropical Bettong

Another interesting but very rare ground-dwelling mammal is the Tropical Bettong (Bettongia tropica). This strictly nocturnal animal has been found at only a few places in the Wet Tropics but not normally in rainforest, preferring the more open forest types on the drier western side of the Great Dividing Range. Looking a bit like a small kangaroo bent forward but having a pointed face shape, it feeds mostly on fungi and seems to have a special digestive system to obtain nutrients from this unusual diet.

The Musky Rat-kangaroo

In the morning look for the Musky Rat-kangaroo (Hypsiprymnodon moschatus), a very dark brown marsupial macropod (kangaroo family) whose body is only about 23cm (9 inches) long foraging for fruits on the rainforest floor. This animal is regularly seen around the volcanic lakes Eacham and Barrine and around the bases of the famous Curtain Fig and Cathredral Fig trees on the Atherton Tablelands. The Musky Rat-kangaroo prefers the wetter parts of the forest and feeds on fallen fruits found in the leaf litter as well as small invertebrates such as earthworms and grasshoppers. They give birth to two or three babies which stay in their mother's pouch for about 21 weeks before emerging to spend most of their time in their forest floor nest. When they are a little older, they will accompany the female on her feeding rounds.

Mammals - General Information

The Wet Tropics region is home to about a third of Australia's 315 mammal species - including unique green possums, fierce marsupial cats, kangaroos which climb trees and rare bats. As well as relatively common mammals like the platypus and wallaby which are widespread over the continent, the Wet Tropics is home to 13 mammal species which are found nowhere else in the world. All except two of them - the endangered Tropical Bettong and Mahogany Glider - are rainforest dwellers. They include two tree-kangaroos, a rat-kangaroo, four ringtail possums, a melomys and an antechinus.

Other Wet Tropics mammals are found in rainforest to the north in Cape York - the striped possum, prehensile-tailed rat, and the white-tailed Rat. Others also occur in to the south - the yellow-footed antechinus, spotted-tailed quoll and the white-footed dunnart (found 4000km south in Victoria and Tasmania).

Some of the Wet Tropics rainforest species have close relatives in New Guinea and Southeast Asia. When Australia became isolated after the break-up of the supercontinent of Gondwana, it drifted northward. About 15 million years ago it bumped into the Asian continental place. This collision allowed an exchange to take place between two sets of animals and plants which had evolved in isolation. Asian flora and fauna, including many placental rats, moved into Australia. At the same time Australian species moved north. Many of them colonised New Guinea, a new high altitude land mass created by the 'bow wave' of Australia's northerly drift. As a result, some of the unusual mammals of the Wet Tropics also live with our northern neighbours - the Long-tailed Pygmy Possum in Papua New Guinea and the Tube-nosed Insectivorous Bat in Southeast Asia.

Reptiles - Geckos and Skinks

Two of Australia's largest geckos are Wet Tropics primitive endemics. The first is the lanky 20 cm Chameleon Gecko with its distinctive white-ringed tail. Once this tail is shed and regrown, the white-rings are absent leaving the entire tail dark brown with black flecks. The Chameleon Gecko(Carphodactylus laevis) sleeps in leaf litter through the day and forages on the ground or on tree trunks at night.

Another awesome specimen is the 23 cm Northern Leaf-tailed Gecko with its shield-shaped tail. This Australian endemic lizard has a very flat body and tail with spindly arms and legs and sharp clawed toes instead of pads. The entire body is covered with a variable, reticulated pattern and the body is rough to the touch with visible, spiky scales running along the outer edges of the body. The irregular pattern even appears in its eyes! Like the Chameleon Gecko, the Leaf-tailed Gecko (Saltuarius cornutus) also forages at night but it prefers to shelter in crevices in trees during the day.


There are many skinks in the Wet Tropics and they are usually small and difficult to identify but there is one major exception - in fact, it's called the Major Skink - and it reaches a total length of 39 cm (15 ½ inches)! It is a gold colour down the back with some dark flecking. The sides are very dark with rows of pale flecks that could be considered stripes if they were adjoined better. The eye is brown or gold. The Major Skink (Egernia frerei) has a diverse diet which includes snails, insects, spiders, fruit and small lizards. Although it likes to bask in the sun, it is wary so it is not often seen and darts back into a burrow dug under a rock or into a rotting log.

Reptiles - Snakes of the Rainforest

Australia is known for its large number of extremely venomous snakes but we have at least 10 python species as well. The largest snake in the country is a very common Wet Tropics 'celebrity' which is often seen by visitors and which frequently visits the area's human inhabitants, especially those who keep domestic animals.

The Amethystine Python (also known locally as a Scrub Python or Scrubbie) has been confirmed at 7 meters long but anecdotal accounts suggest that larger individuals have been seen. It is very distinctive with a tan diamond pattern along its length and is often seen crossing roads in the rainforest at night.

People living on the edge of the bush or people keeping birds often report them in their yards. Pythons feed on warm-blooded animals and have heat-seeking pits in their jaw to locate their heat-emitting prey. Domestic pets such as small dogs, cats, chickens and parrots are frequently an easy target of the Scrubbie and aviaries must be 'snake proof' to protect their residents.

The Amethystine Python (Morelia amethistina) usually has a docile nature however, it is not advisable to approach or attempt to handle any snake no matter how tame it might seem. A bite from this snake could result in a severe wound that would probably bleed profusely. Additionally, a python's body is almost entirely muscle so a large individual is extraordinarily powerful. Once coiled around your body, the combined strength of several people might be required to remove it.

Mention venomous snakes and the typical response is that you're talking about a dangerous snake - but that is not necessarily so! There are two types of poisonous snakes in Australia. One group is called the Elapids and these snakes distribute their venom through their front fangs. The other group is the Colubrids and some of these also have venom glands but the toxin is dispersed through fangs in the back of their mouths. To receive a dose of the Colubrid's venom, you'd basically have to stick your finger down its throat!

The Brown Tree Snake is often seen in and out of the forest at night - it is sometimes called the night tiger. The Brown Tree Snake (Boiga irregularis) is normally about 1.4 metres (4 ½ feet) long and it is not dangerous to us - but birds, small mammals and lizards would not like to meet one.

A group of Australian snakes that we need not fear but should have a healthy respect for and that is the Elapids - the front fanged snakes. Even though this group has the capability to be harmful, the majority are not. Only a few of these have aggressive or easily excitable dispositions. It is a good rule of thumb for any snake you encounter to leave them alone and just admire them from a distance.

Little in size does not necessarily mean little in threat. The Small-eyed snake is shiny black above and cream or pinkish below and it's only about 50cm (20 inches) long but it should still be admired from a reasonable distance. The likelihood of the casual visitor seeing one in the forest or heathland is not great however, as this snake is shy and nocturnal. It normally lives under rocks or logs so be observant when climbing over these during night bushwalks. This Small-eyed Snake (Rhinoplocephalus nigrescens) bears live young - usually four or five and its favourite food is lizards.

Reptiles - Dragons and Lizards

While it might seem out of the ordinary for a visitor to the World Heritage Area to have a lizard on their "must see" list, the Boyd's Forest Dragon is well worth such a distinction. This dragon conjures up images of the giant lizards who battled in the Jules Verne tale 'Journey to the Centre of the Earth' with its colourful, large-scaled head and line of curved spikes down its back. Boyd's Forest Dragon (Hypsilurus boydii) is the epitome of cryptic in its closed canopy rainforest habitat and is a challenge to spot even when it is directly in front of you. It is often found clinging vertically to a tree trunk with its head uppermost although the 50 cm long Boyd's has been observed by herpetologists to sometimes sleep in a horizontal position on branches. Boyd's Forest Dragon was probably one of our immigrants from Southeast Asia when a land bridge to New Guinea existed during an ice age.

While not a rainforest endemic, the Lace Monitor deserves a mention due to its size, likelihood of being seen by visitors and its disposition. Up to 1.5 metres in length, it is an impressive beast to observe. This lizard is arboreal and is a major predator of birds' nests but it also eats reptiles, small mammals, large insects - even carrion and food scraps. Lace Monitors (Varanus varius) can sometimes be seen sauntering confidently through campgrounds, seemingly unafraid of people, while they search for unattended plates of food. However, if startled or threatened, they will run up the nearest tree trunk, quick as a flash!

Crocodiles have some very interesting capabilities

• they can hold their breath underwater for up to one and a half hours
• they have a lingual gland at the back of the throat that removes salt from their body
• their brain is only the size of a walnut but it still allows enough 'processing' to take place to enable the animal to make a decision about whether to attack or not
• crocs replace their teeth by growing new ones inside old ones which eventually fall out
• the stomach of the crocodile is only about the size of a basketball and contrary to legends and 'old wives' tales', crocs do not store their food - they eat it right away
• of 23 species of crocodiles worldwide, ours is considered the most aggressive

While this powerful animal can easily tear a large animal apart, it also exhibits the gentlest behaviour with its offspring. The croc builds a mound to incubate its eggs (like the megapodes, the Scrub fowl and the Brush Turkey) and when its 50 or so eggs have hatched and the young have climbed to the surface, the female picks them up in her mouth and carries them carefully down to the water. Males can be predators of their own young but females are very protective and stay close to the mound during the three months the eggs are incubating (November to March).

Photographed by Micheal CermakThe best and safest place to see crocodiles might be at a fauna park. There are river tours which feature the estuarine crocodile as a draw card, but it is dependent on the time of year as to whether wild crocodiles can be seen. The wet season temperatures are usually too hot so the crocodiles submerge to the river bottom during the day. However, in the cooler winter months, crocs bask on the banks of some rivers. After decades of hunting, however, many crocs have become wary of the sound of boat motors so even the winter visitor might only see the tell-tale "slide" on the bank instead of the animal (slides are the tail and footprint impression left on the muddy bank after a crocodile has darted into the water).

In Cairns, a crocodile removal program is in progress for all areas except the mangrove wetland system adjacent to Trinity Inlet (Cairns harbour). All Estuarine crocodiles are trapped and relocated to remote areas. While this trial program reduces the likelihood of a human-croc encounter in the Cairns area, it also involves a research component so that we can learn more about the crocodile's ecology and survival rates once moved.

Reptiles - Crocodiles

Although the Estuarine Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) is not confined to the Wet Tropics, it is by far the best known reptile of Tropical North Queensland. For an animal of such power and ability to exist over tens of millions of years, the crocodile is almost defenceless against the power that human fear creates.

There have been occasional attacks on people in developed and remote areas of Tropical North Queensland and these receive more than ample publicity. However, in many cases, such traumatic events have been the result of less than careful judgement. Cleaning fish on the edge of a river or near a boat ramp is to a crocodile what 'chumming' is to a shark. (Chum is a slaughterhouse concoction poured off the side of a boat to attract sharks.) Going for a midnight swim in an estuary is just as much a gamble as picking up a cobra and wrapping it around your neck! But such accidents have happened and these have a great impact on people's fear and hatred of the crocodile - an animal which deserves a healthy respect.

The estuarine crocodile is an ancient species and one which can live a long time - up to 100 years - but many of the oldest and largest crocs were hunted out by the 1970's. Crocodiles up to 8.4 metres (28 feet) long have been verified in the past but nowadays, most crocs only reach about 5 metres. They are fully protected (including their eggs) and regulated crocodile farms provide controlled products (meat and skins) for domestic and international trade.

Jaguar vs Crocodile(Caiman)