Characters
This is little Walla. Her fancy name is Macropus robustus robustus or Eastern Wallaroo. The Eastern Wallaroo is a hill-dweller who uses rocky overhangs and shallow caves as shelter. Wallaroos belong to the kangaroo family.
This is Varan. His full name is Varanus giganteus although he doesn’t look gigantic in this little picture. Varan is also known as a goanna or Australian monitor lizard.
Do you recognise this bird? Cocky Caca’s name is Cacatua galerita. We also call him Sulfur Crested Cockatoo.
Tachy’s full name is Tachyglossidae, of the monotreme family, known as Echidna. She is actually very clever because she lays eggs AND has a pouch where her babies suckle for 2 to 3 months after they hatch. At that stage the babies (known as puggles) are hairless, which is good news for the mummy echidna. The spines develop and harden as the babies grow into adults.
When he is trying to impress, Vomba insists that you call him Vombatus ursinus. Otherwise we call him Mr Hairy Wombat.
Our Old Man Emu’s full name is Dromaius novaehollandiae. While mummy emus lay the eggs, it is the father emus who look after the babies when they hatch. Emu dads rock!
Ah, the noble Aquila Audax. She is Australia’s own Wedge Tailed Eagle, the biggest bird of prey in the Great Southern Land. She is indeed a noble bird.
Pele is also known as Pelecanus conspicillatus, or the Australian pelican. He has amazing blue feet if you ever get to see him out of the water. He actually prefers catching fish in his big pouched beak. Fun fact: our Pelican comes from a family of birds that some estimate to be at least 30 million years old and is found all over the world (except Antarctica where it is tooo cold). This helpful bird migrates a lot in search of food.
Koalas (like most of the bush animals in this story) are uniquely Australian. Our friend Phasco’s fancy name is Phascolarctos cincereus – from the Greek for pouch and bear and Latin for ‘ash coloured’. But don’t call him bear, please. He’s a marsupial (like Little Walla and Joey).
This is Risky. He is partly a Labrador and partly a kelpie. He loves chasing balls and fetching the morning paper.
Maisy is also very sweet. And chunky and easy to fall over. She is an English bulldog.