Tasmania

The island of tasmania was once part of mainland Australia, but it is now separated from southeastern Australia by the Bass Strait. Tasmania has a cool, wet climate. The western part of the island contains rainforest that is home to many animals. Tasmania’s isolation has allowed some animals to develop into unusual forms or separate species. Species have been threatened by introduced species, such as rabbits, although not as badly as those in mainland Australia. Clearing forest for logging and mining is the biggest issue.

Forest demon

The Tasmanian devil’s name comes from its black coloring and its eerie, whining snarl. It has strong jaws and teeth that can crush bones. It eats all of its prey—bones, fur, skin, or feathers—leaving nothing behind.

KING ISLAND B A S S S T R A I T

Big mouth

The quoll is a pouched mammal that comes out mainly at night to hunt. Its jaws can open wide to show its pointed teeth. The quoll has sharp claws and ridged pads on its back feet for climbing. The ground parrot spends most of its time on the ground. It can fly, but rarely goes more than 650 ft (200 m) before landing.

Ground parrot (Pezoporus wallicus) Length: up to 12 in (30 cm)

Spotted-tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) Body length: up to 2 ft 6 in (76 cm)

PLATYPUS Thick vegetation covers the banks of the Franklin River in southwestern Tasmania.

Lake Mackintosh Great Lake

Many of the mountainous areas of Tasmania are covered by forest. T A S M A N I A

Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisi) Body length: up to 2 ft 1 in (65 cm) I N D I A N O C E A N

Rare wolf

The thylacine or Tasmanian wolf is declared extinct, although there have been unverified sightings. It was a pouched mammal with a thick tail like a kangaroo’s, but had doglike feet and teeth. It also whined, barked, and growled like a dog.

SPOTTEDTAILED QUOLL

Lake Gordon THYLACINE RUFOUS-BELLIED PADEMELON

GROUND PARROT TASMANIAN DEVIL

Thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) Body length: up to 4 ft (1.2 m) Tail: up to 2 ft (61 cm)

Rufous-bellied pademelon (Thylogale billardierii) Length: up to 2 ft (63 cm) Tail: up to 16.5 in (42 cm)

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Bony bill

The platypus is an unusual mammal because it lays eggs. Its bill is made of a bone frame covered with skin. When swimming underwater, the platypus shuts its ears and eyes and uses its sensitive bill to probe for food. Most dives last less than a minute.

Platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) Length including tail: up to 25 in (63 cm) Bill: up to 2.4 in (6 cm)

Tunneling wallaby

The rufous-bellied pademelon is a type of kangaroo that takes shelter in the undergrowth. If a pademelon is alarmed, it may thump the ground with its back legs to warn others of approaching danger.