Egg-laying and Marsupial Mammals

Apart from the black-footed rock wallaby ‘Red List 2020-2’ Vulnerable’ other featured species are listed as ‘Least Concern’ and are all Australian endemics.

Koalas spend most of their day asleep in eucalyptus forests where they feed on the leaves for just a few hours each day. Most of my sightings have been of individuals asleep, but occasionally, I photographed them feeding. The three featured photos show a female cradling here joey but keeping a watchful eye on me, an individual catching the sun and one foraging in the eucalyptus trees.

There are three wombat species (Northern and Southern ‘hairy-nosed’ and ‘common or coarse-haired’). One of the three common wombat subspecies is widespread and endemic to Tasmania. Wombats are nocturnal feeders spending the day in their burrows. My wife was driving down from the snowed-in Cradle Mountain National Park, although at lower altitude it was still cold. We spotted a wombat grazing in a meadow near the road. Wombats are nocturnal feeders but will feed during the day if it is cold.

There are around fifty macropods (kangaroos, wallabies, and relatives). Kangaroos are the largest macropods; the gallery displays both eastern and western grey kangaroos. The Euro (wallaroo) is an intermediate size kangaroo. Wallabies, rock-wallabies and pademelons are amongst the smallest macropods; several species feature including a large male and smaller female mid-sized agile wallaby.