Australia: Land Beyond Time Page #3

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By rights nothing should live here

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this ought to be a lifeless wasteland

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But it is not

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The closer we look the more we find that

some of Australia's forest inhabitants

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have met the desert's challenge

with subtlety and resource

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Now a diverse underworld of ants

rodents marsupials and reptiles

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are among the most

successful desert dwellers on Earth

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By day most life in this land ocean

is hidden beneath the surface

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Many of the desert animals

come out to feed in the cool of night

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These tiny hopping mice survive

because they rarely need to drink

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Most of the water they require

is contained in the seeds they eat

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ln the heat of the day

they huddle together in deep burrows

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creating a humid atmosphere

that helps to conserve moisture

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ln this arid region hardy mulga trees

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provide food for one of Australia's

four thousand species of ants

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Six feet below the surface

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honey ants hang like clusters of golden

grapes in cool humid larder chambers

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These specialised ants

are living honey pots

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They are force fed by worker ants

on nectar

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harvested from the sap of mulga trees

growing above

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When food is scarce

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these honey pots feed the workers

by regurgitating their nectar on demand

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Their underground storehouse will see the

whole colony through the toughest of times

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Arid Australia

is the land of the lizards

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There can be up to forty seven different

varieties in just one area

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The Thorny Devil has a sticky tongue

and it's picky about what it eats

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Out here black ants are one food

that never runs out

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The devil is perfectly adapted

to the desert

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lts prickly skin collects moisture

from the air

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and a system of fine channels along

its body

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