Australia: Land Beyond Time Page #2

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the size of a mouse

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As forests contracted some kangaroos

evolved to live in the trees

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and others learned to eat grass

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When food is plentiful

the males are active

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and courtship disputes are

traditionally settled

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with a round or two of kick-boxing

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Mothers and babies

sensibly keep out of the way

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On most continents animals breed

in response to the seasons

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ln Australia

it is the availability of food

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that prompts the kangaroo to reproduce

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To capitalise on good times

the mother can support a production line

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one joey in the pouch one at foot

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and another in the womb as an embryo

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She can even supply her babies

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with two different formulas

of milk at the same time

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one for each generation of young

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The koala evolved from the

same marsupial possum as the kangaroo

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When the baby

is big enough to leave the pouch

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it rides on its mother's back

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Like the kangaroo

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the koala evolved

in the moist rainforest

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As the forest dried it adapted

to live on the leaves of the gum tree

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Now it drinks little water

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and its digestive system

can extract moisture

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and nutrients from leaves that would

be toxic to most other mammals

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Koalas use as little energy as possible

resting about 19 hours a day

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Some members of the family however

are active at any hour

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When moving from tree to tree

they normally descend backwards

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Consejuently tree top traffic jams can

sometimes leave one out on a limb

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For years on end much of the Australian

inland receives little or no rain

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Two thirds is classified arid

and one half is desert

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The Outback as it is called

covers most of the continent

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