Australian Bush Babies - 2011 AUSTRALIA
Some of Australia's most popular native baby animals are featured in this delightfully illustrated stamp issue. The animals featured on the stamps are a bilby, dingo, kangaroo, koala and sugar glider.
The Bilby (Macrotis lagotis) is a nocturnal marsupial with distinctive rabbit-like ears, greyish fur and a beautiful bushy black tail with a white tip. It survives on a diet of seeds, grubs, bulbs, fruit and insects. Bilby babies stay in the pouch for about 80 days. Despite a decline in numbers, the Bilby is becoming an increasingly popular Australian icon at Easter.
The Dingo (Canis lupus dingo) is Australia's native dog. It is typically ginger in colour although some dingos are black and tan. While the young pups stay with their mother while learning the art of hunting, they usually live in packs which help rear them. Their deadliest predator is the wedge-tailed eagle. The dingo has a series of distinctive howls each conveying a different meaning. Unlike other dogs it does not bark.
The Sugar Glider (Petaurus breviceps) is a shy, small gliding possum found in the forests and woodlands of eastern and southern Australia. It has a membrane extending from its fifth finger to its ankle enabling it to glide between trees using its long bushy tail for stability and steering. Sugar gliders are very sociable creatures forming groups of up to seven whose young may share a nest.
The Kangaroo (Macropus rufus) is probably the most recognisable of all Australian marsupials and the red kangaroo is found on the Australian coat of arms. There are over 60 different species of kangaroo and they live in all areas of Australia. Essentially nocturnal herbivores, kangaroos eat grasses, leaves, fungi and the shoots of small trees and need very little water to survive.
The Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) is one of Australia's best known and most loved animals. A mammal not a bear, the koala is found from northern Queensland to southern Victoria and south-eastern South Australia, although habitat destruction through residential development and farming has significantly reduced its distribution. Koalas spend most of their time in eucalypt trees sleeping and feeding. The eucalypt leaves are high both in fibre and moisture content and a koala may eat up to half a kilogram of leaves each day
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