The Rainforest, Flora and Fauna...

The Rainforest

Drive the Captain Cook Highway and cross the Daintree River for some of the most unspoiled country in Queensland. These Rainforests have been in conflict between loggers and conservationists interests. The most beautiful Rainforest is found in North Queensland. These Lowland Rainforests are the best developed in Australia.

The world's Rainforests are becoming rare; and as this commodity abounds here in North Queensland it is a golden opportunity to see the leafy canopies, cascading waterfalls, tropical fauna and wildlife and the beauty of the natural Rainforest. Rainforests maintain their alluring and abundant greenery by the vast amount of rain, which falls during the wet season.

Wet Tropical Rainforest are a small but unique feature, and the most complex ecosystem on Earth. Other ecosystems have been broken by ice ages, volcanic activity and sea level changes. 100 million years ago most of Australia was covered with Tropical Rainforest. Australia was part of "Gondwanaland" a super-continent comprising South America, Africa, Antarctica, India, Australia and New Zealand.

 

The Daintree Rainforests are derived from these ancient forests. The warm conditions required persisted only here in North East Queensland. The once extensive and ancient Rainforest now survive as minute relics and are a haven for primitive plants and animals. Two major areas are - Mossman Gorge (Daintree National Park) and Noah Creek Valley.

In one hectare of Rainforests there can be 20,000 to 30,000 different species. A 10 metre area of Rainforest can contain 100 species of trees. It is not unusual to see 20 species of various orchids and ferns on a branch of one tree.

Daintree Rainforest has the best concentration of ancient flowering plants in the world. Out of the 19 recognised as primitive, 13 are found here. The majority of plants found here are uncommon or restricted. Plants are still being found here in the Daintree Rainforest that are unknown, and today there are new specimens to be found here that are yet to be named.

 

Flora and Fauna

Our Rainforest has never been botanised completely. Botanists believe that approximately 50% of Rainforest species have been listed. Most Rainforest fruits are inedible; some can be eaten while others are very poisonous. The Rainforest habitants have their own select fruits that they live upon and every week there is a tree fruiting that they need as their food source.

The Rainforest is home of many fauna but unfortunately they are not often sighted owing to the denseness of the jungle. The best areas to watch for them are on the edge of the Rainforest, not in it. Forest animals are as listed: The Kangaroos and Wallabies, Echidnas, Bandicoots, Possums, Pigs, Platypus, Gliders, Dingoes, Fruit Bats, Crayfish, Snakes, Mice, Rats, Cats, Crocodiles and Cassowary. (More information on some of these animals continues below)...

Kangaroos and their Relatives...

The large range of unique animals that live here in Australia make it a fascinating and important continent. Where else would you see such creatures, as bizarre as a Duck Billed Platypus; as cute as the Koala or as graceful as the Kangaroo?

Kangaroos and their relatives belong to the superfamily Macropodoidea. The semi-technical term, "Macropod", remains the general term for members of this group. The Macropodoidea includes two families, the "Potoroidea", referred to as Rat-Kangaroos, Potoroos & Bettongs; and the "Macropodidae", comprising Kangaroos, Wallabies, (including Hare, Nailtail, Rock and Swamp), Pademelons, Quokka, Tree-Kangaroos, & the forest Wallabies of New Guinea.

People think of Kangaroos as large, muscular animals, but there are many tiny and delicate species. There's a large range of Kangaroos, ranging from the big Red to the tiny Rat-Kangaroos. Most Macropods are nocturnal but the larger species may be active during the early morning or late afternoon.

The birth of a Kangaroos is a miraculous sight. The mother gives birth to a Joey the size of an acorn, and one gram in weight. In fact it is an embryo, as it had a gestation period of 33 days.

Joeys are born blind with powerless hind legs. Once born it rests on her tail, then the task of climbing up and into the pouch begins. This is done without assistance from the mother. (This is said to be equivalent to a blind man with his legs broken, crawling through a forest to the top of Mount Everest, using just his arms.) It takes about ten minutes to struggle up through the thick fur, bravely yet slowly. The Joey, as small as the end joint of the little finger, then climbs into the pouch and searches for the nipple, then fastens on until it swells up in the mouth, helping the Joey to adhere to it firmly.

All species of Kangaroo usually give birth to one young at a time, with the exception of the Musky Rat-Kangaroo that often has twins. Most species can take two years to develop to complete independence, indicating a slow reproductive rate. This could have been a disadvantage for their survival, however many species found a way around this problem. The solution is called "embryonic diapause". The species that have developed this system have the ability to stop embryo development at a very early point, and restart embryonic growth later. When the young is born (the blastocyst stage) the mother becomes pregnant again; but this embryo will develop only to the blastocyst stage. The signal for restarting the growth development seems to be the older Joey suckling less. This happens when the Joey eats more food than milk.

The pouch has four teats, letting the mother feed two young at once. From birth to the end of weaning, the Joey will feed from the same teat, so the younger sibling must therefore attach to one of the other three teats. It is extremely unusual for a mammal to cope with two suckling young of very different ages and the situation is even more remarkable in that the mammary glands supplying each of the two functioning teats produce milk of different compositions, one for the newborn and one for the older Joey.

Echidnas

A layman travelling through the Australian bush may be forgiven for not paying too much attention to the Echidna, for this small animal can easily be confused with a common Hedgehog.

The Echidna is a Monotreme. Monotremes differ from other mammals by laying eggs but lacking nipples. They raise their young on secretions from the mother's body. The lack of living Monotremes could be due to their being less adaptable in their behaviour than other mammals. The Echidna combines a good defensive measure with a diet that isn't like other mammals found here in Australia.

The Echidna is known for its' long spines but did you know that fur exists between them. They are found over most of Australia, but they haven't any habitat requirements other than a supply of the ants and termites that they feed on.

The Echidnas are highly specialised toothless feeders that open ant and termite nests with their forepaws or snout and extend their long tongue into them. Insects stick to the tongue (which is covered in a sticky saliva) and are then drawn into the mouth. During feeding a large amount of soil and nest material is eaten and this forms the bulk of their droppings.

The Echidna is a solitary animal, and usually seeks shelter under thick bushes, in hollow logs, under piles of debris or occasionally in a burrow. A female with sucklings spends most of this time in the burrow.

In arid regions of Australia they avoid extreme temperatures by sheltering in caves or crevices and restrict most of their activity to the night. Echidnas tend to forage around dusk and dawn but they may be active in the middle of the day.

The male has a spur on the ankle of its' hind leg (similar to that of the male Platypus) but lacks the function of the venom gland. Mating occurs in July and August, during which time a female can be followed by as many as six males. About two weeks after mating, a single soft-shelled egg is laid, probably directly into the pouch on the belly of the female hatching after about ten days. The young remain in the pouch for three more months, sucking on milk exuded from the numerous pores of the paired mammary glands. By the time it leaves the pouch, the young has a covering of short spines. The relationship between the mother and the young in the next Seven to Eight months is unknown by juvenile are first seen from September to November when they are about one year old and weigh one to two Kilos.

The spiny coat provides an excellent defence. When disturbed suddenly an Echidna curls into a ball of radiating spines or digs itself below the surface but remains horizontal.

Crocodiles

Crocodiles are today's living dinosaurs. They are the last remaining members of the ruling reptiles of the Mesozoic era; Class Archosauria. These were an ancient group whose ancestors lived here before the dinosaur era (200-65 million years ago). They lived with the Tyrannosaurus Rex and the Brontosaurus Orhunder-Lizard. Crocodiles lived on when the dinosaurs disappeared. They survived the break up of the ancient world (when the continents split up) and through the Ice Ages.

Only in the last 50 years has seen the Crocodiles existence threatened. Some species have disappeared from their former range after intense hunting for hides. Australia is one of the very few places where the Estuarine Crocodiles (Salties) are common enough for a chance survival, and the only place where Freshwater Crocodiles are found.

An estuarine Crocodiles nest consists of mounded vegetation and earth. They may be found in grass beds or fringing forest along watercourse banks or by deep freshwater swamps. Females often guard the nest by hiding in a wallow dug near the nest. Freshwater Crocodiles lay their eggs in simple holes in the sand near the waters edge. Nesting females are aggressive, and may stay near the nest but appear not to guard it.

When the young crocodiles hatch from the egg, their squeaking attracts the adults that excavate the nest and gently carry the young in their mouth to the water. Unhatched eggs are rolled around on the tongue to help them emerge. Adult Crocodiles can remain near a group of hatchlings in the water and offer protection to them for several months. Distressed hatchlings will squawk loudly, which attracts the attention of the nearby adults.

Observing Salties in the wild is difficult because they are very shy and usually stay under the water. But in some rivers like the Daintree River and Cooper Creek, Crocodiles may be seen swimming or basking during the day, and frequently in winter when the water is colder. They haul themselves onto sand or mud banks or climb among mangroves. Slide marks along the riverbanks are evidence of them being present. A quiet trip could allow you to spot Crocodiles.

Freshwater Crocodiles can be more easily seen and are more abundant then Estuarine Crocodiles. Very often they are not seen until they splash into the water a few metres away, then surface for air immediately after diving, with only the tip of their snouts and eyes visible. They can stay down for 20 minutes or more at a time.

More Crocodiles have been seen in recent years, and while numbers have increased, many sightings are attributed to Crocodiles being less wary of people. Very few 'problem' Crocodiles are in the 1.5 to 2.5-metre range. Dangerous Crocodiles living in populated areas are captured and relocated or given to commercial farms or zoos.

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