View allAll Photos Tagged nativeanimal
I had a wonderful close encounter with this little echidna today. Just a chance sighting while driving, but I had time and room to pull over safely and follow at a distance on foot. I managed a few shots, but.....you know how some days you feel a little slow and old? Well today was one of those days. The title refers to me. I took a few shots of this little guy, but then he outran me! Not everyone can say they were outrun by an echidna. For overseas followers, these little things just waddle along slowly and leisurely on their little three inch long legs. And it still outpaced me! Sigh.....
Lovely to see it though. Made my day.
I showed this little wallaby a few months ago when it was skittishly hopping around the village. It has well and truly settled in to village life now and the residents have named it Hoppy (very original). It is much tamer now and does get into a lot of gardens for a nibble without stripping plants bare. Here I caught it in my neighbour's garden as it was sampling their miniature roses (very tasty apparently). A lovely addition to our village, so long as it is getting all the right food. It is totally free to come and go, so it must be quite content.
.....that's the spot.....ahhhh!"
The itch must be contagious!
Taken in the large back garden of the accommodation we chose in Halls Gap. There is always wildlife around free to come and go, but a lot of animals stay in the local area, so there is always something to see in the garden. This time it was a mix of maybe two dozen little grey kangaroos, and quite a few emus! The owners of the cabins don't need to mow the lawns very often as they have this team of real live mowers (and fertilisers) working for free!
One of an ever increasing number of kangaroos and wallabies that are thriving in the Valley Lake conservation area here in Mount Gambier.
Zoom in to check out those lovely long eyelashes!
Images of Australia: 42/100
Native to Australia, wombats are found in forests, mountains and heathlands. They live in burrows, coming out at night to eat plants, grasses, and roots.
Some unique features of the wombat are as follows:
The wombat gives birth in just thirty days to an underdeveloped joey. This joey then lives in its mother’s pouch as it continues to develop.
The wombat’s pouch faces towards their rear. This protects the joey from getting covered in dirt as the parent digs its burrows.
Wombats have square-shaped feces.
(Photographed at Australia Zoo)
Smile on Saturday
"TON SUR TON" A picture of a coloured object placed on a background of a different shade of the same colour."
We were delighted by the daily visits of this pair of Pampas Foxes (Lycalopex gymnocercus) during our stay at the cabin. To make things easier, we affectionately named the male Manuel and the female Moria. They moved with quiet confidence around the area, showing a natural curiosity. Although they kept a safe and respectful distance, they often stopped, offering us a beautiful, shared glance like the one captured here.
• Grey pampean fox, Azara's fox, Azara's zorro
• Zorro de las Pampas, Aguará gris, Zorro gris
Scientific classification:
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Mammalia
Order:Carnivora
Family:Canidae
Genus:Lycalopex
Species:L. gymnocercus
Laguna Garzón area, Maldonado–Rocha border, Uruguay
This image is going back a bit, Feb 2024 to be exact. That far back I don't even remember taking it :).....The exif data says it was taken at 12.10 am. Impossible for 2 reasons, 1 - this is in complete daylight. 2 - I'm never up at 12-10 am, ever.....
It took about four goes, but finally, this koala found just the right spot for a siesta!
Taken in the Tower Hill reserve on Victoria's south coast near Warrnambool.
This delightful scene was the view from the deck of our chosen holiday cabin in the caravan park at Halls Gap. It is full of wonderfully Aussie things. Gum trees, sulphur crested cockatoos in the trees and on the grass, and off in the distance if you zoom in on the detail, a couple of small mobs of kangaroos. This whole area is unfenced and the kangaroos, emus and even deer are totally free to roam everywhere, often as close as the steps to the deck of the cabin and all through the caravan park. It was our first time at this park and it promised online that there would be some valley views from the cabin. They were right.
These kangaroos are some of the wonderful "locals" in our Valley Lake Conservation area here in Mount Gambier. These are the larger western red kangaroos and can grow to quite a size. If they stand tall on their rear legs, you can look them in the eye! They roam free among the walking trails throughout the park but are not quite as tame as some. It is never advisable to approach them too closely.
Valley Lake itself can be seen in the background and is a small volcanic lake. On the other side of the ridge on the far side of the lake is the much more well known, and slightly larger Blue Lake.
Happy Gorgeous Green Thursday!
While poor mum kangaroo had been out in the rain all night, little joey was very happy to dine alfresco the smart way - in the cosy warmth of the pouch!
These were just two of the many regular wildlife visitors that wandered freely through the unfenced grounds of the caravan park in Halls Gap.
Dromaius novaehollandiae
Emus are the largest bird in Australia, and second largest in the world after ostriches.
Coffin Bay National Park, South Australia
All animal photos I take (excluding Homo sapiens) are observed in the wild.
This emu was busily feeding on the surrounding lawns, but suddenly just popped its head up and stared vacantly into the distance for a long while, clearly just musing!
Taken in the unfenced grounds of the caravan park at Halls Gap where the kangaroos, emus and deer wander freely.
This large water (Intellagama lesueurii lesueurii) was resting in dappled sunshine on a lichen covered rock in my Gold Coast hinterland garden. Its body is about half a metre and tail is about the same or longer. I see this creature in my garden occasionally but usually its colour is basically finely textured grey. Never have I seen an orange dragon! The soil where I live is rich volcanic red and creates orange mud so my guess is that my garden lizard has been in muddy water perhaps seeking refuge from kookaburras and raptors which hunt in the area.
Here's some whale photos I've taken over the last few days. Note the other whale top-left.
Humpback Whale, N.S.W. South Coast
.....legend has it that this distant cousin to the koala will drop from the trees on unsuspecting tourists caught staring up at them, ready to lash out with razor sharp claws, and hoping to to devour them as a tasty snack!
I have not been to the Valley Lake conservation area for a while now, but decided to see if I could get my little electric mobility scooter in. I was able to get well into the park before the paths got too steep, so I was able to sit a while to see what came my way. It didn't take very long for this fairly large kangaroo to literally cross my path. It just stopped a while and eyed me for no more than a few seconds, then settled in there for a while and a quiet chew on its long green grass stems. In my seated position, I was still four feet tall, and I was looking slightly up into the eyes of this strong and healthy looking Western Grey kangaroo. A few minutes later it quietly hopped off.
Three Tasmanian Devils making short work of wallaby road kill at Trowunna Wildlife Park in Tasmania. They're noisy eaters and it's every devil for himself; wonderful to see.
"I think I'll have a little snooze before my nap, then settle down for some serious sleep later on."
*******************************
Our dear Aussie koalas know how to sleep. Apparently, they can easily manage around 20 hours a day.
Taken in the Tower Hill reserve near Warrnambool on Victoria's south coast.
A different roo this time, and this one was just quietly licking its front paws as it sat deep in the long grass.
A fine specimen of the Common Wombat (Vombatus ursinus tasmaniensis).
This one came wandering up the boardwalk to meet us, paused to sniff the camera then wandered off to find a tasty tussock. The animal is not tame but very accustomed to people on the path through Cradle Valley. Wombats use the walkways (considerately placed by we two legs) as both autobahn and toilet. Piles of cube shaped dung are quite a feature.
Plenty more detail on the nature and habits of your common wombat here: nre.tas.gov.au/wildlife-management/fauna-of-tasmania/mamm...
Ricoh GRIII, 18.3mm f/2.8 GR Lens,1/125th sec at f/8, ISO 400
Having trouble sleeping? Take lessons from this guy - 17 hours a day - no problem!
Taken at Tower Hill Reserve near Warrnambool on Victoria's south west coast.
This young mum lives in a cupboard in the garden shed. Her joey is on her back but a bit shy and obscured by her head. (iPhone, dark cupboard)
Brushtail Possums, Broulee, N.S.W. South Coast
It was interesting to watch this little grey kangaroo go through a little routine of tilting its head right back and closing its eyes for a few seconds at a time as it soaked up the morning sun on a chilly morning.
Taken near the back door of our accommodation in Halls Gap, VIctoria.
Images of Australia: 44/100
Perhaps one of the most recognized Australian animals, the Koala is always a popular attraction at zoos and wildlife parks.
Koala's main diet is Eucalyptus leaves, and they have a specialized digestive system that allows them to tolerate the enzymes in the leaves. They barely drink water and sleep for 18--20 hours a day. Despite their quiet looks, they produce loud bellowing calls, especially during he breeding season.
Koala habitat is threatened by increasing urbanization and bushfires.
And, in spite of often being called a Koala Bear, they are not bears nor related to bears in any way.
I like the hollow in the water formed as the rear whale dives - as if it's 'burrowing' into the sea.
Humpback whales, N.S.W. South Coast
The whale calf seems to be revelling in the conditions - big waves being driven by the 50 km/hr southerly blasting along the coast this afternoon. These pics aren't great - not close and couldn't hold the lens steady in the wind and rain but hopefully you can feel the energy of both whale and weather.
Humpback whale calf, N.S.W. South Coast
Our local Brushtail Possum was out and about in the neighbour's tree munching away for quite a while this afternoon. Naturally, the Galahs just don't like her and we had many less here for seed time, feed time.
When I managed to get this shot, she was way up at the top of the tree still eating but it was very late and the light fairly dim (in other words not the best of shots!) - I have lightened it with a bit of editing. She doesn't mind coming out in the day at all. We actually thought we had lost her today, when we returned from our trip into the city, we saw that one had been killed on the road during the day. Obviously not her though thank goodness because she is quite cute and we hate to see our locals hurt or killed.
Despite having one of the most powerful jaws on the planet for it’s body weight, Devils are mostly scavengers – but they will also hunt. They’re adequate all-rounders at most things, like swimming, climbing trees etc. but not the best at anything. The size of a small dog, the Tasmanian devil became the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world following the extinction of the thylacine in 1936. It is related to quolls and distantly related to the thylacine. It is characterised by its stocky and muscular build, black fur, pungent odour, extremely loud and disturbing screech, keen sense of smell, and ferocity when feeding.
My neighbour currently has a Devil Mum (the young are called Imps) living under his house!! For more Tasmanian native animals visit my blog post: TasView