Discover the weird and wonderful AUSSIE animals in my books-

"Kangaroo Clues!" "Never Say BOO to a Frilly!"

"Don't Eat Platypus Stew"

To Visit . . .WILD US CRITTERS!

Discover "Fun Facts" and "Nutty Notes!" about the US animals in my books.

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KANGAROOS - What Makes the Big Hoppers Hop?

Hey, don't you wish you could do humongous hops like a kangaroo? You could, if you had powerful back legs and long back feet. But they can't walk backwards, and they don't have thumbs: so you're even, mate! They DO have a long fourth toe with a wicked claw. This toe is the secret behind those huge hops - it helps push them forward! Their tail ( apart from making yummy kangaroo tail soup) helps them balance when hopping fast. If you like hamburgers and fried chicken, don't go dine with a kangaroo - strictly salad I'm afraid. Babies grow big in Mama's"marsupial"pouch. Kangaroo mamas must LOVE babies, because adult females are almost always pregnant. After that first Joey starts sucking on the teats in her pouch, Mama K's milk just keeps on flowing - an on-tap milk bar until she dies. Kangaroos are silent types, but even they offer a few "love grunts"when romance is in the air. People yell and scream when they're scared, right? But kangaroos just lift that big back foot, and thump the ground to warn of danger. Now, here's something to make you hop up and down! Almost 280 companies worldwide want to use a picture of the kangaroo as their trademark.
Hop HERE for more kangaroo clues.

NUTTY NOTES: A kangaroo is just a huge mouse with springs in its legs!

*KOALAS: Are They REALLY Soft and Cuddly?

Don't you believe it, mate! Koalas are feisty little blokes who like to be left alone. For Koalas, eucalyptus gum trees are the only game in town! They sleep in them, climb in them, and eat the tender tip of the gum leaves. If you mom says you're lazy, you can tell her that you are no match for the koala. They spend 80% of their days sleeping - YAWN! They do move around in the gum trees after sunset, nibbling away for a few hours. If another koala sneaks onto their turf, a fight might break out, and both angry furballs will bark loudly at each other. The baby Joey is born, blind, hairless and less than an inch long. WOW! Then, he crawls into his mum's pouch, and slurps milk from one of 2 teats. Baby K hides inside Mom's pouch for 6 months. If your family drives near a koala family, be careful not to run them over. Bush fires also can kill these cute fellows. They are built for climbing, not running. Koalas may look cuddly, but watch out for those CLAWS! More fun koala facts

NUTTY NOTES: A koala is just a crabby old man in a fur suit!

*PLATYPUS: Was he made up of odd bits & pieces?
SHUSH. . . !The platypus is shy. Loud noise will make them dive into the water. They are fussy home builders too- building mud burrows in the banks of only the finest freshwater lakes and streams. Platypus are weird! They like to swim underwater with their eyes and ears closed. Can you close YOUR ears? Pretty neat, eh? But they have to use their webbed feet to swim DOWNWARDS all the time, because their fur traps air, and this makes them buoyant. If they don't keep swimming DOWN, they pop back up to the surface, like a cork! Beware, male platypus come armed! A sharp, hollow, horny spur on the inside of both hind leg ankles is always loaded. His venom gland shoots a powerful and painful toxin. This spur is a nifty defense against those determined to eat him. Platypus like to eat by moonlight, and tasty aquatic insect larvae, shrimps and worms, are always on their menu. No need for knives and forks! Just a duck-like snout that dabs after goodies in mud, at the bottom of the water. AND they have a unique family history - real classy! They are Monotremes, because they lay eggs instead of giving birth. Check out this site for fun platypus facts

NUTTY NOTES: A platypus is what you get when the cook serves leftovers!

 

*KOOKABURRAS: Are they really laughing at jokes?
Kookaburras are a noisy bunch of feathers that like to roost in the Aussie bush. . The Kookaburra's raucous laughing call wakes many Aussies who live near the bush country. If you want someone to sing sweetly in your choir, DON"T ask a kookaburra! This bird's chorus of crazy laughter will ruin any tune. They do people one good turn though. Kookaburras think snakes are delicious, and mice are a real treat - UGH! Perhaps I shouldn't mention that they also drool over baby birds, and steal them whenever they can. Can you imagine living in a termite mound? NO? Well kookaburras will settle for a termite mound, if a hollow tree trunk is not for sale! Mum ad Dad Kooka look after the babies together - real family values, mate. And even feed them when the are teenagers, and leave the nest. Hear the kookaburra laugh and read more fun details.here.

ABORIGINAL LEGEND! . . . . . .The Australian aborigines have a legend about the Kookaburra. When the sun rose for the first time, the god Bayame ordered the kookaburra to utter its loud, almost human laughter in order to wake up mankind so that they should not miss the wonderful sunrise. The aborigines also believed that any child who insulted a kookaburra would grow an extra slanting tooth.

NUTTY NOTES: Kookaburras see the whole world as one big laughing matte

 

*ECHIDNA: He's a prickly customer!
The Echidna (also known as the Spiny Anteater) makes the platypus look like a party animal! It thinks being a primitive species of egg-laying mammal is an excuse to be a hermit. On top of this, it has the monotreme title, like the platypus. This, "Please don't knock, I refuse to answer,"critter, has tough spines covering the top of its body. YIIKES, I'll bet he's not on too many menus! The echidna is lonely for a l-o-n-g time - he can live for over 50 years.. When attacked, the echidna will quickly burrow in the ground, or curl up in a ball. Mama E lays a single egg in the pouch on her belly. The egg has a leathery shell, and junior pops out in 10 days. Baby echidna is no prize - he's born blind and hairless. The milk for junior comes from a gland in mum's pouch. Hey, seems pouch milk-bars are popular with Aussie animals! Would you believe a baby echidna is called a "PUGGLE?" Cripes, I'd sue! It's no surprise, that in a few weeks, when baby develops those nasty sharp spines, Mum kicks him out of her pouch. Echidnas scarf up ants, termites, insects and worms, with their fantastically long and sticky tongue. For extra fun facts click here.

NUTTY NOTES: Echidna are just footballs that grew spikes!

*EMU - The dad is a house husband!
What's the use of being a bird if you can't fly? Well, you'll have to ask an emu for that question.. Emus are shaped like a giant feathered egg on legs - very tall thin legs. Their long neck weaves about, as the eyes in their small head squint at you. The African ostrich and the South American rhea are their kissing cousins. Not flying can't matter too much, because they have survived in Australia for 80 million years. Emus like it HOT - deserts, forests and on the plains. At 5 to 6 feet tall, they weigh up to 150 lb.. No wonder they can't fly! Emus are super short distance racers -up to 60 kilometers an hour, with a stride of about 9 feet. WHEW! Talk about big. Emus guzzle a lot of water, drinking 2 to 4 gallons daily. Who knew they were fun creatures, enjoying water play or a mud bath? And watch those muscular legs! One kick, and you are over the moon! More fun emu facts

NUTTY NOTES: Emu dads are house husbands - he raises the kids. Mum's super liberated and outa there!

*DINGO - He'll run you down, mate.
WOOF! WOOF! Yes, dingoes are DOGS - Australia's native dog in fact. That is, if you consider arriving in Australia 3500 to 4000 years ago makes them eligible. DNA testing, that magical stuff in all of us, says that dingoes evolved 135,000 years ago,and were the world's first domestic dog. They even have the wolf beat, predating him by a good margin.. A 'marker' has been found in the Dingo which is not present in the wolf, making the Dingo a separate species. All this hot scientific stuff means, is that the dingo is #1 in the dog stakes, making it the great, great, great, and on-and-on, grandfather of all 600 true breeds on the earth today. GO DINGOES! More great dingo facts.

NUTTY NOTES: If a dingo is a pack animal, what does he pack?

*WILD AUSSIE BIRDS - Not record company would offer them a singing contract.

Assorted Australian parrots, cockatoos and other wild birds are truly awesome. You need dark glasses so their colors won't dazzle you. If you took some of these wild Aussie parrots to McDonald's, they would eat from the garden menu;sweet nectar, fluffy pollen, and a side dish of fresh, live insects - TO GO!. . . . . . . . . .. . Visit this site to see vivid pictures of every species. FEATHERS RULE, mate! Click Here for bucket loads of tid-bits about your Aussie feathered friends.

TRUE STORY

My mum used to live in a rooming house where the landlady had a sulfur crested cockatoo. This bird knew a lot of words and sentences, and mimicked everyone very well. Each day, his owner hung him outside on the verandah in his cage. Sometimes she would call my mum, "Mrs. Lynch, are you there?" Mum would come out of her room, and they would chat a while. It wasn't long before that cockatoo could say those words in exactly the same voice as her owner. Soon, poor Mum couldn't tell whether it was the bird or its owner who was calling her. After that, the feathered mimic had to stay indoors for a while, to give Mum a rest.

NUTTY NOTES: Aussie parrots are nothing but chickens with fabulous feathers!

 

*MARSUPIAL MOUSE - A real meanie!

Marsupial mice are feisty, so don't go poking them. If you do, they'll tell you off with much hissing, nasty chattering, and lots of tail thrashing. These blokes come in shades of gray, brown and speckled. It's a wonder they don't trip over their tails, because they are as long as their bodies. They like to eat at restaurants that serve meat, meat, and more meat! Home is in a burrow in the hottest place they can find. You can keep your air-conditioning! This mousey is very territorial. He marks his home territory with secretions from a scent gland, and leaves droppings and urine in certain places. POO! What a smelly, messy home he must have. Mama Mouse carries up to six young on her teats for about eight weeks. She suckles them in a nest for a further eight weeks. These juniors ride on their mothers side or back. Whew! I'll bet her back aches. These mice are seriously weird. They don't drink water! All the moisture they need comes from the flesh and blood of the juicy small bugs, lizards, and other creepies they eat.- YUCK! For more gross mousey doings. . . . . click here.

NUTTY NOTES: Marsupial mice are just tiny kangaroos without the springs in their legs!

 

*FRILLNECK LIZARD - A surprise package!

How would you like to be named Chlamydosaurus? Well, that's the Latin name the Australian Frillneck Lizard is stuck with. Frilly spends 95% of his time hanging vertically on tree trunks. No, that's not weird, it's how he catches breakfast, lunch and dinner. Caterpillars, massed swarms of bees, wasps and winged termites - YUM! They all end up in his tummy. He also likes to keep an eye on his territory, and any rival frillnecks that try to sneak some of his goodies. The big frilly only climbs out of his tree to eat. On the ground he often stands upright - just to keep an eye on things. They bask on tree trunks in the early morning, and hide in the shade of the canopy in the heat of the day. Frillnecks never need glasses. WHY? Because their eyesight is so good. When they spot food they like, the frilled lizard runs and grabs it, then hurries back to his tree. NO they don't eat barbecue! But the best hunting time for them is after a bushfire. WHY? The fire has cleared away the undergrowth and edible goodies are easier to spot - makes sense, right.

Frillies have the art of the bluff down cold. If threatened, they open their mouth wide, and erect their frill. Frilly hopes the bright orange and red scales on the underside of the frill will scare you to death! To add to the bluff, he'll hiss, and jump around.. But don't worry, he soon turns chicken and runs on his hind legs to the nearest tree and hides. Reproduction: A female frillneck lizard lays a clutch of 8 to 14 eggs. - whew!

NUTTY NOTES: Frillneck Lizards are small dinosaurs that forgot they were supposed to be extinct.

 

A Request: I would love to hear from you if you enjoyed this page or read my books. I promise to reply to any e-mails you send me - Margot Finke

 

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