Phoebe+&+Caitlin

//**Native Endangered Australian Animals **//


 * MOUNTAIN PYGMY POSSUM ** -  Phoebe Carr



//The mountain pygmy possum is a small, nocturnal animal that is native to Australia. Its scientific name for the mountain pygmy possum is Burramys parvus. They grow to 110mm and they weigh 30 to 80 grams and the females are bigger than the males. Their fur is grey/brown on the top and underneath it is a light creamy colour. // //There is an estimated that there are less than 2600 adults left in the wild. In Victoria they are threatened and in New South Wales the are endangered. // //The mountain pygmy possum is endangered because there is only small areas of suitable habitat remain. Also because of introduced species like wild cats and foxes. There also is the blackberry plant that puts the mountain pygmy possums’ food source. // //Their habitat are found in New South Wales and Victoria. There is a total of only 10 square kilometers of suitable habitat for the Mountain Pygmy Possum. There are only 3 known populations: // //- Mount Higginbotham, Victoria // //- Mount Hotham, Victoria // //- Kosciuszko National Park, New South Wales //
 *  • What are they? **
 *  • How many are there? **
 *  • Which (if any) are endangered? **
 *  • Where in Australia are these animals found? **



 **• What are some of the problems being faced by both people and animals in the area?** //<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">The main problem being faced by the animals is that because the mountain pygmy possum lives in mountainous area where so many ski lodges are, their habitat is being cut down to make way for new lodges and new ski tracks. It affects the people because their property can be compromised because the habitat on their property could be taken away for development. // //<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">The mountain pygmy possum live in snow covered alpine regions in Victoria and NSW. They live among boulder fields and rock crevices. Their diet consists of moths in Summer and Spring and in Winter and Autumn they eat seeds and fruit. // //<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">The requirements for the mountain pygmy possums’ food and shelter is that there is sufficient amounts of mountain plum pine because it is their staple food in the winter. They live in boulder fields filled with the plum pine that helps them survive. They also use the mountain plum pine as shelter so this plant is one of the main requirements that the pygmy possum requires. // //<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">One of the main factors that contributes to the mountain pygmy possums’ ability to live in the wild is the amount of redevelopment happening where their habitat remains. There is always new resorts, new track and new lifts goin in in the alpine area where their habitat is located. Also, a factor that is also contributing is global warming because the heat is making it harder for them to survive.. There is also infestation of the blackberry plant that is killing off the mountain plum pine which is making it difficult for the mountain pygmy possum to live. //
 * <span style="color: #8b15d5; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;"> • What sort of environment do they live in? **
 * <span style="color: #8b15d5; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;"> • What are the animal's requirements for food and shelter? **
 * <span style="color: #8b15d5; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;"> • Factors which are affecting the animal's ability to live in the wild. **



//<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">I think we need to do more about our native animals that are becoming extinct because they are Australian and there is nowhere else in the world that as them. It is really worrying that our endangered animals that are Australian icons could be extinct in 50 years //
 * <span style="color: #8b15d5; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Your own opinion **

//__** We can only respect the views of indigenous cultures in our our quest for conservation if we start committing to working together and sharing our knowledge with each other. **__//

NORTHERN HAIRY NOSED WOMBAT - Caitlyn Finn

//<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">The hairy nosed wombat are large animals with black-eye rings, also with grey silky fur and of course with a hairy nose. They have strong legs and claws for burrowing. The biggest hair nosed wombat can weigh up to 40kgs with an average weight of 32kgs There whole body is covered in grey fur (including their nose). They are one of Australia’s rarest marsupials and they can grow up to 35 cm to 1 metres long. And the hairy-nosed wombats are known to have lived till about 26 years old. //
 * <span style="color: #8b15d5; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">• What are they? **

//<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">In 2005 they recorded that there were only 115 hairy-nosed wombats in the wild life, and now the last count for hairy nosed wombats were in 2010, and their are about about 163 left. Together there are 9 wombats living at Richard underwood Nature Refuge and the expected increase since 2010 it is estimated that there are now only 200 Northern-hairy wombats on the planet. //
 * <span style="color: #8b15d5; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">• How many are there? **

//<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Northern-hairy nosed wombats live in a dry and harsh environment and they on are the brink of extinction because they have to fight for their food with domesticated animals such as cows and sheep. //
 * <span style="color: #8b15d5; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">• Which (if any) are endangered? **

//<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">They’re found in Epping Forest National Park in central Queensland, west of Clermont, and they used to occur in the Deniliquin in New South Wales on the Moonie River near St George (southern Queensland). //
 * <span style="color: #8b15d5; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">• Where in Australia are these animals found? **

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">

//<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hairy nosed wombats live in a dry tropical environment where most rain falls in the summer wet season. They live in a semi-arid zone that are deep sandy soils along shallow and vegetated dry creek beds and gullies, and in big burrows usually close to trees. //
 * <span style="color: #8b15d5; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">• What sort of environment do they live in? **

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">//The Northern hairy-nosed wombats eat nearly 100% native and introduced grasses and they eat leave rather than stems which provide the wombats with good nutrition. The eat for an average of six hours a night in winter and only two hours in summer. For comparison an eastern grey kangaroo about the same size as a Northern hairy-nosed wombat will need to be feed for about 18 hours a day and thats because the wombats are cool, and humid burrows help them to converse energy. The Northern hairy-nosed wombats will only come out to eat at night when its not too cold, too hot or too dry. Radio-tracking has shown that the northern hairy-nosed wombats eat over small areas for an animal of their size which is about 27 hectares.//
 * <span style="color: #8b15d5; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">• What are the animal's requirements for food and shelter? **



//<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">One of the main factors faced by the Northern hairy-nosed wombats are the way they have to fight for there food; there are only a couple hundred of wombats left in Australia, just this continent and they’re environment is too harsh and cruel for them to live in the wild. //
 * <span style="color: #8b15d5; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">• Factors which are affecting the animal's ability to live in the wild. **

//<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">My opinion is that these native animals have nowhere else to live besides Australia and they’re becoming extinct and endangered very easily by people cutting down their habitat. People aren’t realising that there environment is also affecting the way people live and if we don’t help them or find out a way just imagine our native animals in 10-20 years time. To help these animals we need to speak out and share what we know to try and stop more animals becoming extinct. //
 * <span style="color: #8b15d5; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Your own opinion: **

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">BIBLIOGRAPHY:


 * [|__http://theconversation.com/australian-endangered-species-mountain-pygmy-possum-13149__] **
 * [|__http://www.wildlife.org.au/wildlife/speciesprofile/mammals/northern_hairy_nosed_wombat.html__] **
 * [|__https://theconversation.com/australian-endangered-species-northern-hairy-nosed-wombat-13148__] **
 * [|__http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=267__] **
 * [|__http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/publications/pubs/tsd05mountain-pygmy-possum.pdf__] **