Animal Diaries Archive

Luke's Roving Opportunity

30 November 2007

Hey guys, some of the more regular readers may remember some of my articles from the koala department, but not so long ago, I was given the amazing opportunity to be a part of the roving department. Now, I get to work with a huge array of wildlife! And still get to see those awesome little koalas. So far I've worked with Eastern Blue Tongue and Shingle-Back Skinks, but my favourite has to be the wombats, after all, they are the closest living relative to the koala and all have their own unique personalities. So learning all about these animals, I thought I'd share with you some interesting facts, for example, did you know...

• Blue Tongue and Shingle-back Skinks both belong to the same family, or genus, called Tiliqua.
• Here at Australia Zoo we have common wombats, and southern hairy-nosed wombats, two out of three species of wombat. The third, the northern hairy-nosed wombat, Lasiorhinus krefftii is critically endangered, with approximately 100 individuals living within Epping Forest, Queensland.
• Shingle-back Skinks are highly monogamous, meaning they stay with the same partner for life.
• Like some other lizard species, Blue Tongues can actually drop their tails, if threatened. Whereas Shingle-backs store fat in their tails which works to confuse predators by it looking exactly like their head.
• Chisel, our oldest common wombat here at the zoo is approximately 21 years of age! However, the oldest on record reached 26!! Chisel is now father to three common wombats, Burrow, Kato and Tonka.

There you go folks, some interesting facts about these amazing species that need our help! Even coming to the zoo helps in wildlife conservation, as part of the entry admission goes towards helping species great or small or you could even become a Wildlife Warrior by visiting www.wildlifewarriors.com.au

So until next time... stay tuned for more roving antics at Australia Zoo... where all animals rule!!!