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Great White Sharks Australia




Great White Sharks , also known as great whites, white pointers, white sharks, or white death, are the ocean's most scariest and feared predator, they can be found on all coasts of Australia.



Their size ranges between 3.5 to 5+ metres long, and weigh on average 1,300kg+. The Great White is grey in colour on the top, and white underneath.




The largest Great white shark reliably measured was a 6.0 m (19.7 ft) individual reported from Ledge Point, Western Australia in 1987. However, a larger great white shark specimen was verified by T. C. Tricas and J. E. McCosker in 1984. This specimen was 6.4 m (21 ft) long and had a body mass of about 3,324 kg (7,330 lb).




A non confirmed great white shark was captured near Kangaroo Island in Australia on April 1, 1987. This shark was estimated to be more than 7 m (23 ft) long.




Great white sharks, like all other sharks, have an extra sense given by the Ampullae of Lorenzini, which enables them to detect the electromagnetic field emitted by the movement of living animals. Every time a living creature moves it generates an electrical field and great whites are so sensitive they can detect half a billionth of a volt. Even heart beats emit a very faint electrical pulse. If close enough, the shark can detect even that faint electrical pulse. Most fish have a less-developed but similar sense using their body's lateral line.




Great white sharks infrequently attack and sometimes even sink boats. In a few cases they have attacked boats up to 10 metres (33 ft) in length. They have bumped or knocked people overboard, usually 'attacking' the boat from the stern.



Great white sharks are carnivorous, and prey upon fish (e.g. tuna, rays, other sharks), cetaceans (i.e., dolphins, porpoises, whales), pinnipeds (e.g. seals, fur seals, and sea lions), sea turtles, sea otters, and seabirds. Great whites have also been known to eat objects that they are unable to digest. Upon approaching a length of nearly 4 metres (13 ft), great white sharks begin to target predominately marine mammals for food. These sharks prefer prey with a high content of energy-rich fat. Shark experts used a rod-and-reel rig and trolled carcasses of a seal, a pig, and a sheep to their boat. The sharks attacked all three baits but rejected the sheep carcass.





It is not very well known why sharks attack us. With millions on people swimming in Australian waters every day and only about one fatal shark attack per year, we are surely not the favourite food of sharks. Sharks are known to like seal meat and some scientists believe that fatal shark attacks happen when they mistake us for seals. Others argue that sharks would have brains big enough to distinguish us from seals and suppose it may be a combination of reasons which varies from case to case.



Great white sharks also test-bite buoys, flotsam, and other unfamiliar objects, and might grab a human or a surfboard to identify it.


There have been 195 known fatal shark attacks in Australia.



More than 900 men were thrown to the mercy of possible Great white sharks in the Pacific Ocean, when their American warship, the USS Indianapolis ,carrying parts and the enriched uranium for the atomic bomb Little Boy, which would later be dropped on Hiroshima was split in two by Japanese torpedoes in July 1945. When rescuers arrived four days later, they found 579 men dead, with many chewed to pieces by circling sharks. Woody James, among just 316 survivors, said later: "The sharks were around, hundreds of them...Everything would be quiet and then you'd hear somebody scream and you knew a shark had got him."



Crew of the USS Indianapolis (CA-35)






Outback

Tasmanian devil Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary





Bonorong is not a zoo but a wildlife sanctuary, specialising in the care and rehabilitation of orphaned and injured wildlife, while giving visitors an up-close and personal experience.


After many years in court regarding trademark, A deal with Warner Bros. allows the Tasmanian Government to manufacture and sell up to 5000 special edition Taz plush toys with all profit going towards funding scientific research into the Devil Facial Tumour Disease.
The Tasmanian Government and Warner Bros. have previously disputed the government's right to use the character as a tourism promotion, which Warner Bros. offered if they paid for it. The government refused this offer.



All of the animals are at the sanctuary for a reason and a significant majority of  funding comes from generous guests that visit the park. They need people to visit them to continue there hard work. 



At Bonorong you will see a number of species that are sadly now extinct everywhere but Tasmania. They include the Tasmanian Devil, the Eastern Quoll, the Tasmanian Pademelon and the shy Tasmanian Bettong. These four marsupial species have made their last stand Tasmania and other marsupials sadly are at risk of joining that list.

At Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary the Tasmanian Devils are active during the day, so you can view them at any time.


Australia has the highest number of mammal extinctions in the last 200 years and the people at Bonorong are determined to make sure these amazing animals don’t join that list. As well as these animals you will see everything from golden possums, potoroos and emus to the brilliant spotted-tailed quolls, wombats and echidnas.
 
 

 
For the ultimate up-close wildlife experience, join the ‘Nocturnal Nights’ tours, an exclusive out-of-hours guided tour of the park with the owner or manager. Bookings are essential.


Bonorong Wildlife Park is situated in Brighton, 25-minutes’ drive (25 kilometres/15 miles) north of Hobart.

Koala Bears



The koala is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia.
The koala is found in coastal regions of eastern and southern Australia, from Adelaide to the southern part of Cape York Peninsula. Populations also extend for considerable distances inland in regions with enough moisture to support suitable woodlands. The koalas of South Australia were largely exterminated during the early part of the 20th century, but the state has since been repopulated with Victorian stock. The koala is not found in Tasmania or Western Australia.

The koala lives almost entirely on eucalypt leaves. Like wombats and sloths, the koala has a very low metabolic rate for a mammal and rests motionless for about 16 to 18 hours a day, sleeping most of that time. Koalas can be aggressive towards each other, throwing a foreleg around their opponent and biting, though most aggressive behaviour is brief squabbles.




In 1788 the Australian Koala Foundation (AKF) estimate there would have been 10 million koalas.

In 2008 we estimate there are less than 80, 000 koalas.

Australia has one of the highest land clearing rates in the world. 80% of koala habitat has already disappeared.

Although koalas themselves are protected by law, around 80% of any remaining habitat occurs on privately owned land and almost none of that is protected by legislation.

The Australian Koala Foundation estimates that as a result of the loss of their habitat, around 4,000 koalas are killed each year by dogs and cars alone.

The AKF believes that the Australian Government should be responsible for the protection of koala habitat on private land and not leave it up to the present piece-meal approach of each state being responsible.

The AKF estimates that there are likely to be less than 100,000 koalas remaining in Australia today. 64% of their habitat has already been lost. This makes it vitally important to save what is left.





Clearing of the eucalypt forests means that all wildlife - including koalas - will suffer from:
•Increased disturbance by humans

•Starvation

•Injury or death from traffic

•Injury or death from dogs and cats

•Effects of garden pesticides getting into waterways

•Increased competition for food and territory because of overcrowding

•Increased stress on animals, making them more susceptible to disease.




Mud Crabs

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