Moving on now from the birds to some of the other wildlife we saw while in Australia. Some we simply couldn't get cameras out fast enough for, or the animals made a quick exit into the bush within seconds of us sighting them. Two dingos, one red kangaroo and two wallaroos evaded our cameras in this fashion. The wallabies however, made it easy for us. In one place they were about as common as squirrels in Queen's Park (Toronto) or Stanley Park (Vancouver).
There are two kinds of crocodiles, freshwater and estuarine. The latter will eat you, the former like only food that can be swallowed whole apparently and having smaller mouths, eat birds, fish, and baby crocodiles (that would be one aspect of their lives that make you wonder how they've managed to last for as long as they have, being one of the longest surviving animals on the planet along with sharks).
The first wallaby we saw showed up in our campsite one morning and was foraging in the cool of the day. We were still close to Darwin, which is roughly 12 degrees south of the equator. This one had a very large joey still in her pouch.
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This 'salty' was 5 metres long and had staked out his territory along the Mary River where we were camping. They do come up on the bank and signs warn people not to let dogs or small children walk near the river's edge. The crocs can move surprisingly fast. Considering that we were camped within a 2 minute walk of the river we were very glad to be in a camper van rather than a tent. Though I did notice a tent pitched half the distance between us and the river.
These are the 'freshies'
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Fruit bats are very numerous in places. These ones were hanging out in a tree in the town of Katherine, located near the Nitmiluk Gorge. They make quite the racket as they come in to roost in the morning. We were told one group of early explorers in this region spent nights huddled under their tarpaulins (not nice in hot weather) fearing these were vampire bats. They're quite large, about 45 cm (1.5 ft) by the look of things. Here's a short video clip of fruit bats (flying foxes) in Kakadu National Park where we first spotted them. This isn't my video, but gives you a clearer and more detailed shot of their activities. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UL0cQ0rhqN8
Monitor lizards (Goannas) are harmless (at least to humans) and this one turned up in Buley Rockhole in Litchfield National Park.
A quick look online tells me that there are 31 species of monitor lizards in Australia.
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The selection of wildlife seen on our trip included sharks. While we were at the Horizontal Falls staying in a houseboat overnight, I had an opportunity to swim in a shark cage, protected from the local sharks that come in to feed. A large Groper (a fish) also swam past the cage, although is far too big for the sharks to bother with. These are Tawny Nurse Sharks and in the bottom left hand corner is part of the pontoon boat that I'm standing on so you can see how close they come.
Image may be NSFW.
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These large fish that look like Angel fish are called Bat fish and are roughly the size of large dinner plates. Our boat had travelled into a protected bay that had once been used for pearl fishing. The pearl fishers had long since abandoned the bay and our guide was cautioning us about the local 'salties' that inhabit the area.
There are two kinds of crocodiles, freshwater and estuarine. The latter will eat you, the former like only food that can be swallowed whole apparently and having smaller mouths, eat birds, fish, and baby crocodiles (that would be one aspect of their lives that make you wonder how they've managed to last for as long as they have, being one of the longest surviving animals on the planet along with sharks).
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| At the Wangi Falls campsite |
The first wallaby we saw showed up in our campsite one morning and was foraging in the cool of the day. We were still close to Darwin, which is roughly 12 degrees south of the equator. This one had a very large joey still in her pouch.
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  | |
| Not a two headed wallaby - but a mum with her little one leaning out of her pouch |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  | ||
| I had been busy watching some birds on the water and looked over to find this one watching me. |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| A joey mooching for scraps at Nitmiluk. |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Early morning at Mary River |
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
This 'salty' was 5 metres long and had staked out his territory along the Mary River where we were camping. They do come up on the bank and signs warn people not to let dogs or small children walk near the river's edge. The crocs can move surprisingly fast. Considering that we were camped within a 2 minute walk of the river we were very glad to be in a camper van rather than a tent. Though I did notice a tent pitched half the distance between us and the river.These are the 'freshies'
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| a 'freshy' on the Mary River |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| One of the numerous freshies at Windjana Gorge |
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Fruit bats are very numerous in places. These ones were hanging out in a tree in the town of Katherine, located near the Nitmiluk Gorge. They make quite the racket as they come in to roost in the morning. We were told one group of early explorers in this region spent nights huddled under their tarpaulins (not nice in hot weather) fearing these were vampire bats. They're quite large, about 45 cm (1.5 ft) by the look of things. Here's a short video clip of fruit bats (flying foxes) in Kakadu National Park where we first spotted them. This isn't my video, but gives you a clearer and more detailed shot of their activities. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UL0cQ0rhqN8
Monitor lizards (Goannas) are harmless (at least to humans) and this one turned up in Buley Rockhole in Litchfield National Park.
A quick look online tells me that there are 31 species of monitor lizards in Australia.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The selection of wildlife seen on our trip included sharks. While we were at the Horizontal Falls staying in a houseboat overnight, I had an opportunity to swim in a shark cage, protected from the local sharks that come in to feed. A large Groper (a fish) also swam past the cage, although is far too big for the sharks to bother with. These are Tawny Nurse Sharks and in the bottom left hand corner is part of the pontoon boat that I'm standing on so you can see how close they come.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
These large fish that look like Angel fish are called Bat fish and are roughly the size of large dinner plates. Our boat had travelled into a protected bay that had once been used for pearl fishing. The pearl fishers had long since abandoned the bay and our guide was cautioning us about the local 'salties' that inhabit the area.
It's hard to hear distinctly the conversation in the background, but essentially our tour guide was feeding the Bat fish the leftover dinner rolls in order to attract them to the surface and explaining that the local estuarine crocs also come into this bay because they are rather partial to eating the Bat fish. Since the tour operator has been coming out here for six years, feeding the Bat fish with old buns, the video finishes off with him saying "So they taste a lot like dough I reckon"