Australian Wildlife Part 1 - Overview

Australia is the sixth largest country in the world and is an island continent that lies in the southern hemisphere.

About 70% of Australia is unable to support agriculture, and at least one third of this area is desert, with the remainder being dry shrub land (or bushland). Only about 15% of the land mass falls within the temperate zone (mostly in the southeast) and some of the remainder is tropical rainforest (mostly in the Northern Hemisphere).

About 50 million years ago it was joined to a giant landmass called Gondwanaland but it then became separated and it is its isolation that has led to its unique wildlife. There are lots of creatures and plants that live on the Australian continent that can’t be found anywhere else! In fact Australia, New Zealand, Tazmania and the surrounding islands are the only places in the world where you can find the group of animals called marsupials (those that have a pouch for carrying the immature young).