The Australian Sea Lion, Neophoca cinerea is a sexually dimorphic species with the adult males up to twice the weight and length of the female. Both sexes have stocky bodies, a large head and short narrow flippers. The male is dark brown with mane-like yellow areas on the neck and top of the head. The females are silver grey to fawn on the back and creamy coloured underneath. Pups are born with a chocolate brown fur, which is lost after the first moulting phase. Endemic to Australian waters and breeds on at least 50 islands off the coast of Western Australia and South Australia. Prefer sandy beaches, usually in isolated bays and sheltered areas. Males do not form harems but will guard and then mate with individual females in turn. Timing of the birth of pups is not the same at each site. Young can be born anytime from January to June after a gestation period of about 12 months. Despite the fact that females give birth to only one young and may not breed again for two to three years, pup mortality is high in the first six months after birth. Photographed Seal Bay Conservation Park, Kangaroo Island 10/21
Common throughout eastern Australia in scrubland and woodlands. Rests in the shade during the day. Grazes from late afternoon to early morning. Female with joey photographed in Euroka, Blue Mountains. (movies)
Phascolarctos cinereus meaning "leather-pouched bear" "ash-colored". Mid-sized marsupial (not related to bears) with thick, dense fur ranging in color from slate-gray to reddish-brown. They have an opposable modified index finger that acts as a second thumb. Found in eucalyptus woodlands of eastern Australia. Mostly arboreal, spending 20% of their time feeding, and 80% of their time sleeping. Males are 75 to 82 cm and females 68 to 73 cm; males are 9.5 to 12.5 kg and females 7 to 9.8 kg. Their bodies are very rounded due to their very large intestines. They get most of their water from the succulent eucalyptus leaves they eat. The word "koala" is an aboriginal word meaning "no drink animal." The eucalyptus leaves contain strong-smelling oils, phenolic compounds and sometimes cyanide precursors. The oils and phenolic compounds are detoxified in the koala liver. Koalas have an enlarged caecum (similar to the human remnant, the appendix) in which fermentation of the eucalyptus leaves occur. The mineral needs of the koala are met by the ingestion of small quantities of soil to supplement their diet. The breeding season of the koala is from October to November. During this time the male Koala calls loudly to attract a mate. Only 35 days after mating one, or occasionally two, Koala joeys are born. The mother has a backwards facing pouch, with strong muscles to prevent the joey falling out. Live 12 to 14 years in the wild. Photographed: Hansen Bay, Kangaroo Island 10/20
Has one of its main breeding grounds on Cape du Couedeic (Admirals Arch) in Flinders Chase National Park on the southwest of the island. It has a broad head, pointed snout and long backward sweeping facial vibrissae (whiskers). The body is robust and covered in thick brown layered hair except on the front and back flippers. The males are larger than the females and when mature carry a dark mane of coarse hair. They have a set of carnivore-like teeth similar to those of a large dog or bear. Like all members of the Family Otariidae (Fur seals and sea lions) they can raise their body onto their front flippers to move around on land. These seals feed on a variety of bony fish species plus squid and octopus. They also hunt seabirds, including Little Penguins. They are voracious and skillful hunters in the water. Females spend most of the gestation period at sea, coming ashore just before the birth of a single pup between December and January. Females generally mate again 6 - 10 days later. The pup population suffers a high mortality rate in those first two months of life especially when the mothers are away at sea feeding. Pups are weaned at four to six months old but may still remain with the mother for a further six months or more. The Kangaroo Island New Zealand Fur Seal population is currently growing at a rate of 10% per year. Photographed Cape du Couedic, Kangaroo Island 10/20
