Australia

By: Daniela, Paola and Isabella.

Weather: Australia's weather varies throughout the eight states and territories; there are four seasons across the whole country and a wet and dry season in the tropical north.

Australia's seasons are at opposite times to those in the northern hemisphere. December to February is summer; March to May is autumn; June to August is winter; and September to November is spring. During summer, Australia's temperatures can reach up to 30 degrees Celsius and during winter they can descent up to 15 degrees Celsius.

The difference between Australia's and Miami's weather are the time the seasons take place. When we are in summer (June to August), Australia is in winter and the opposite. It is true that Miami is near the beach and Australia too so this is one similarity when the hot weather comes, meaning that the beach air helps it to be less hot.

Biomes: in Australia we can find three types of biomes: the tropical, the savanna and the desert. In the tropical we can find rain forests and eucalyptus forests (koalas). In the savanna we will find grassland or woodland (emus).

In the Zoo, there wasn't a desert but they tried to represent some biomes like the eucalyptus forest for the Koala and the grassland for the Emu.

Plants:

Acacia: is a genus of around 1200 species; 954 are currently recognised as occurring in Australia – from coastal zones and mountains to the dry inland. The Australian species are known as 'wattles'. In Spring, beginning in September in Australia, the golden wattle comes into flower with large fluffy, yellow, sweet smelling flower heads. Each flower head is a bunch of many tiny flowers.
Gum trees (eucalypts): are a vital part of the Australian natural environment. The only major environment where eucalypts are absent is rainforest. There are about 12 species which occur naturally outside of Australia but around 700 are native to Australia. Eucalypts serve as shelter for many species of native Australian animals and birds. A few varieties of gum leaves are the only food eaten by koalas.
Grevillea: It is probably the most popular and widely cultivated of all of Australia's plant families. The plants occur in numerous shapes and sizes and the colorful flowers, in many cases, attract birds.

This plants weren't at the Zoo except for the Eucalyptus which is vital to the Koala diet. In Miami we can't find this plants because they mainly grow in Australia.

Animals: while we were at the Zoo we discovered some animals. Here we will just explain 5 of them.

1. New Guinea Singing Dog:

As it's name says they live in Papua New Guinea.
They were brought here by aborigines over 6,000 years ago.
They get their name from the wide ranging howls that they produce, they are able to produce this sounds due to a loose soft pallate on the roof of their mouth.
Their habitat are mountains where it is free to run.
Some of its characteristics are: short, dense coat that is light brown to reddish in color with a lighter muzzle and underbelly.
They are diurnal animals who eat small mammals, they are carnivorous.
Females give birth to 2-6 pups after 3 months of gestation. (They are mammals).
They are an endangered species.
Zoo: this animal was running at the Zoo. There where two of them and they were playing with each other and looking at us.

This video explains all we have talked about the New Guinea Singing Dog.

2. Crocodile Monitor:

They live in New Guinea.
Their habitat is usually rain forests.
Their physical characteristics are: long size and tail that can curve in form of defense. They have serrated teeth that are razor sharp.
Despite their long size, they are vey agile in the trees.
They are also diurnal animals which means, they sleep at night and are awake during morning hours.
Their diet consists of eating birds.
They are reptiles, their eggs have a 6.5 month incubation period.
They life for 10 years.
Zoo: we couldn't see this animal at the Zoo because it was on the tree and we couldn't see it.

3. Koala:

The word 'Koala' means "no drink animal" in the native aboriginal language.
They live in the the majority part of Australia (Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia).
Their habitat is forests where they can climb up trees.
They are nocturnal animals.
Their diet is based on eating Eucalyptus leaves.
They characteristics are grey and white hair with big ears and nose.
They are marsupials, which means that female koalas have pouches where their young stay until fully developed.
They live around 10-15 years.
They face several threats to their survival. Motor vehicle accidents and dogs are major causes of death for koalas, along with disease. The largest threat they face, is loss of habitat caused by land clearing/development, bushfires, and eucalyptus tree dieback.
Zoo: we where able to see a Koala at the Zoo. Even though they are nocturnal animals, the Koala at the Zoo was awake and it was eating Eucalyptus leaves.

4. Matschie's Tree Kangaroo:

They live in Papua New Guinea.
Their habitat is located on thick mountainous forests because they spend the majority of their lives on trees.
They are diurnal animals.
Their diet is based on eating leaves, seeds and fruits.
They have long, sharp claws that help them to climb trees like cats.
They can jump very efficiently through the treetops.
Little is known about their behaviors but it is thought that both females and males have territorial ranges.
They are considered Endangered animals and they are controlled by the Species Survival Plan.
They are marsupials, the females carry their babies in a pouch.
Zoo: this animal wasn't at the display when we went to see it. Maybe because it was too early in the morning.

5. Emu:

They live in the coast of Australia.
They are nomadic, they travel long distances to find food.
The female Emu will lay 5-20 dark green eggs which the male will incubate for 8 weeks.
The male Emu will raise the chicks by himself.
They are the third largest bird in the world.
They can run at speeds up to 30 mPh.
An Emu can take a stride up to 9 feet.
They are diurnal animals.
Their diet is based on fruits and seeds.
Their habitat is normally grassland.
They are considered Common animals.
Their physical characteristics are black and brown fur.
Zoo: we saw the Emu free, it was running.

Request to the Zoo: the Zoo takes good care of the animals, but it is true that there could be some improvements and we have a list of some recommendations.

First of all, the Zoo gives the animals food but some of them look a lot more hungrier because they were trying to eat things that were on the floor. Our suggestions is to give them food constantly because when they bare free in their normal habitat, they can eat whenever they want, if they find the food.

Also, there is a limitation of space for some animals. For example, the Koala wasn't free at all, it was locked on a tiny room with a small tree. They should let the Koala be free on a bigger room or outside.

We will recommend the Zoo to search for information about the animals habitat, for example, the Koala should be free or inside a bigger room.

References

Cushman, A. (2014, August 24). Koala Facts for Kids | Australian Animals | Marsupials. Retrieved March 21, 2017, from http://www.animalfactguide.com/animal-facts/koala/

Davis, J. (n.d.). Crocodile Monitor Care Sheet. Retrieved March 21, 2017, from http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Care-Sheets/Lizards/Crocodile-Monitor/

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. (2015, June 01). Australian flora. Retrieved March 22, 2017, from http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/austn-flora

Matschie's Tree Kangaroo. (2017, March 13). Retrieved March 22, 2017, from http://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/m/matschies-tree-kangaroo/

Weather in Australia. (2017, January 15). Retrieved March 21, 2017, from http://www.australia.com/en-us/facts/weather.html

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