Part Four

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Quokka

DESCRIPTION

·         Well known on Rottnest Island off Western Australia

·         Solidly built wallabies

·         Weigh 2-4kg

·         Long, thick fur, reddish brown to grey with lighter tips

·         Small ears

·         Short tails

·         Sit no higher than 30cm tall on their haunches

·         Their scientific name is setonix brachyurus

DIET

·         Low shrubs and succulent plants

·         Grass

·         Access to water is important

BREEDING

·         Only in winter (on Rottnest), after rains improve supply of water and food

·         Mainland populations breed all year round

·         One pouch young is produced at a time

·         Embryo is stored until conditions are once again suitable for breeding

·         Joey stays in pouch for about 5 months and is weaned 2 months later

HABITAT

·         Dense vegetation around swamps and watercourses

·         Forests south of Perth

·         Heathland along the southern coast

·         Bald Island (off the southern coast of WA)

PREDATORS

·         Foxes

Rodents

DESCRIPTION

·         pair of chisel-shaped incisor teeth in both upper and lower jaws

·         front, outer surfaces of these teeth are covered with hard yellow enamel, while the backs are softer

·         teeth grow constantly during the animal’s life

·         up to 18 cheek teeth that can grind even the toughest foods

·         Between the incisors and cheek teeth there is a gap (a diastema) with no teeth

·         Account for about 40% of all mammal species

·         reviled for spreading diseases or eating crops

·         pets or used for medical research

·         others, such as the chinchillas, are farmed for their fur

·         Most have long tails

·         some are naked while others are furred

DIET

·         hard or fibrous vegetable food, such as seeds and leaves

FAMILY

·         Over 1800 species worldwide

·         Includes, among others, mice, rats, squirrels, guinea pigs, and hamsters

·         All Australian rodent species belong to the Muridae family

·         The Muridae family is the world’s largest and most widespread family of mammals, with over 1100 species in some 16 subfamilies

·         vast majority of Australian rodents are from the subfamily Hydromyinae, sometimes referred to as the old endemics

·         A further seven species, often called the new endemics belong to the subfamily Murinae, as do four more recently introduced species – the house mouse, the black rat, the brown rat, and the Pacific rat

BREEDING

·         “Old endemics” – Hydromyinae subfamily

·         slow reproductive rates

·         females have only four teats

·         have litters between one and four young, sometimes five or six

·         gestation periods of up to 38 days

·         wild animals of is family can live for three to four years

·         “New endemics” – Murinae subfamily

·         reproductive rates much faster

·         females have up to 12 teats

·         rear litters of between four and eight young

·         gestation period of 21-24 days

·         all species ready to mate soon after giving birth

·         become sexually mature at one to three months

·         can often breed in the same season as their birth

·         live fast and die young – live about two years in the wild

·         occurs in spring and summer (in seasonal environments in the southeast and southwest)

HABITAT

·         occur throughout Australia

·         arid centre

·         the extreme southeast, the southwest and the Top End          

Mouse

DESCRIPTION

·         name applied to numerous species of small rodents

·         soft grey or brown fur, long hairless tails, large ears

·         house mouse most common

·         serious pests

·         destructs and contaminates food supplies

·         may carry human diseases, such as typhoid and spotted fever

·         are extensively used in biological and medical experimentation

·         cannot see colour, but can see differences between colours because they see in shades of black to white

DIET

·         omnivorous

·         generally live on a herbivore diet, but will eat meat, dead bodies of other mice, etc

·         have been observed to cannibalise their tails during starvation

FAMILY

·         most but not all are members of the rodent subclass Myomorpha

HABITAT

·         found throughout the world

·         nests are built of available chewable materials, such as clothing and paper

BREEDING

·         Females produce litters of four to eight young

·         gestation period of three weeks

·         breed throughout the year

·         young mature in two months

PREDATORS

·         cats, etc

Rat

DESCRIPTION

·         mammals ® warm-blooded creatures

·         a pointed muzzle, long slender tail, and dexterous forepaws

·         long teeth for gnawing

·         teeth grow throughout its life so they have to gnaw to keep their teeth short

·         Rats live for around two to three years

·         Male rats are called bucks

·         Female rats are called does

·         Young rats are called kittens (and also, occasionally, pups)

·         Male rats can weigh up to 600grams

·         Female rats weigh between 200 and 300 grams

·         A rat’s tail may be as long as its body

·         Use their tails to help them keep balance

·         Fast moving and agile

·         Good climbers

·         Very intelligent and aggressive

·         Brown rat poor climber, but excellent burrower and swimmer

·         Brown rat larger of the two species – grows up to 10 inches (25cm) long excluding the tail and sometimes weighs more than a pound (0.5kg)

·         Black rat grows up to 8 inches (20cm); has longer tail and larger ears than the brown rat; good climber

·         Social animals but sometimes fight among themselves

·         House rat population probably equal to human population

·         blamed for spreading the bubonic plague, which wiped out the large part of population of Europe in the 17th century – was technically the fleas that lived in the rats’ fur that enabled the disease to spread to humans

·         Many people think they are dirty, but rats groom themselves constantly and wash their faces with water

·         In Asia, rats were domesticated in the 17th century and kept as pets

DIET

·         omnivorous

FAMILY

·         member of rodent family

·         two species of house rat,

·         Rattus norvegicus, the brown (or Norway) rat

·         Rattus rattus, the black, roof, or Alexandrine rat

BREEDING

·         mature very quickly and can have their babies of their own when they are 2-3 months old

·         can produce as many as 8 litters with up to 20 young per litter

·         gestation period is three weeks

·         when the babies (kittens) are born they have no hair and cannot see

HABITAT

·         brown rat found in damp basements and sewers of most temperate zone cities

·         black rat inhabits attics and upper floors in warm areas; common in Mediterranean region, the SE United States and Central and South America

·         mostly in and around human settlements

PREDATORS

·         cats, etc

Rottnest Island

·         has a coastline of over 40 kms

·         Leeuwin current warms the bays around it – allows the coral and marine life to survive so far south

·         Pedestrians and bicycles have right of way

·         10% of the island is built on for holiday accommodation/services, the rest has been preserved in its natural state

·         two lighthouses, an airport, train, heritage buildings, massive WWII guns, shipwrecks

·         open every day of the year

·         named in 1696 by Willem de Vlamingh, a Dutch explorer – mistook the quokkas for rats and came up with the name Rats’ Nest

·         first Europeans to actually land on Rottnest believed to have been Samuel Volkerson and his crew of the Dutch ship Waeckende Boey in 1658

·         started out as a prison

·         large military stronghold during WWII

·         first Europeans took up residence shortly after the first settlement of the Swan River Colony was established in 1829

·         place with potential for salt harvesting, farming and fishing

·         was once connected to mainland Australia

·         artefacts have been found pre-dating 6,500 years ago (possibly tens of thousands of years old) – indicating Aboriginal occupation before the island separated from mainland

·         local Aboriginal people not sea-faring; did not have vessels capable of making the crossing back to the mainland and did not traditionally inhabit the island after separation

·         known to the local Aboriginal people as Wadjemup

·         believed to be a place of spirits

·         17 sites listed under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972-1980 – makes it an offence to alter these sites in any way without written permission from the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs

List of References for this page... 

·        Quokka

Reader’s Digest (1997) Encyclopedia of Australian Wildlife. Reader’s Digest: Sydney

Parish, S. (2000) Encyclopedia of Australian Wildlife. Steven Parish Publishing Pty Ltd: Queensland

·        Rodents

Reader’s Digest (1997) Encyclopedia of Australian Wildlife. Reader’s Digest: Sydney

·        Mouse

www.answers.com/mouse

·        Rat

www.answers.com/topic/rat&method=6

McNicholas, J. (2002) Keeping Unusual Pets: Rats. Heinemann Library: Oxford

·        Rottnest Island

www.rottnestisland.com

Smith, Terry (2004) The Adventures of Bertram Quokka: Bertram and the Smugglers. Indian Ocean Books: WA

View other Your Work entries...     Val's Journal      Jodie's Journal

...or view other Ed Pack pages...     Introduction     Part One     Part Two     Part Three     Part Four

Part Five     Part Six     Part Seven     Part Eight     Part Nine     Part Ten     Part Eleven     Part Twelve

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This page last updated: 12th January 2006