Animals

Some cats are urban strays surviving mainly on human refuse. Others are feral animals which survive by eating native animals. Usually solitary and nocturnal, spending most of the day sheltering in a hollow log, rock pile or an old burrow. Rabbits have helped the spread of feral cats by providing food and burrows for shelter. Feral cats breed from the age of about one year in any season. They can have up to 2 litters of about four kittens each year. Feral cats are prey for foxes, dingoes and wedge-tailed eagles.

Nocturnal. Shelters (sometimes in groups) in a grass nest they make in hollow logs or under grass tussocks, rocks or logs. Their flexible breeding pattern means they can breed quickly anytime between late winter to late summer when there is enough food. Dunnarts can have 2 to 3 litters per season with up to 10 young per litter. The young are weaned at 10 weeks. Dunnarts have short sharp teeth suited to crunching insects and spiders. Their scats have visible insect remains. The use of agricultural pesticides could affect their survival.

Mainly nocturnal. Shelters in burrows (warrens) during the day. Can breed from 4 months of age, at any time of the year. When conditions are good they can produce 5 or more litters a year, with 4 to 5 young in each litter. Their impact is greatest during drought and straight after a bushfire, when food is scarce and they eat whatever they can. They ringbark trees and shrubs, and prevent regeneration by eating seeds and seedlings.

Mainly nocturnal. Rests during the day under grass or among rocks (not in burrows). Can breed rapidly, similarly to rabbits.

Breeds September-December. Builds a cup-shaped nest in shrubs or introduced trees.

Nocturnal. European Earwigs can occur in large numbers at times. They can be a pest as they damage young plants. Adults can use their pincers in defense, twisting their abdomen forward over their head or sideways to fight an enemy, often another earwig.

Breeds September-January. Builds a grass-lined cup nest on the ground under over-hanging grass tussocks. Females incubate the eggs. Both males and females feed the young.

Breeding season: late summer to autumn after heavy rainfall. Females lay 70-170 pigmented eggs in loose clumps, often coated in soil in a shallow burrow constructed by the male. The burrows will become flooded with winter rain. Males guard the eggs. A ground dwelling species which tends to walk rather than hop.

Breeds August-February. Eggs are laid in a eucalypt hollow, stump or fence post. Pairs mate for life. The femaie incubates the eggs, being regularly fed by the male.

Active mostly from dusk to dawn, in small or large groups (mobs). Shelters under trees or shrubs. Can breed at any time of the year but mostly in summer. Gestation takes about 36 days. The joey leaves the pouch at about 11 months of age but suckles from the mother until about 18 months old, and by then another young may be in the pouch. Kangaroos can co-exist with sheep and cattle (except for times of drought or overstocking) as they prefer different plant foods.