A Menagerie of Australian Animals Quiz

Answer: Western Australia

The black swan (Cygnus atratus) is climactically nomadic and breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. The swan is called Kooldjak by the Noongar people in the southwest, and Gooldjak in the southeast. It is the state bird and emblem of Western Australia and is featured on the state flag.

Answer: East and southeast coast

Koalas are arboreal marsupials that can be found along the eastern coastline and the southeast corner of mainland Australia: in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. The southern koalas are generally bigger than their northern counterparts.

The koala's diet consists of eucalyptus leaves, and of the roughly 700 species of eucalyptus in Australia, a koala will only eat 50 of these. They also eat the new leaves from the tips of the trees as these have the highest water and nutrient content.

The leaves are low in nutrients, however, and this means the koala needs to sleep for up to 20 hours a day to conserve energy.

Answer: Domestic cat

The quokka (Setonix brachyurus) is a small, herbivorous macropod with a shorter tail than other macropods and, while it looks like a very small kangaroo, it is capable of climbing small trees and shrubs, much like the tree kangaroo (genus: Dendrologus). When first sighted in 1658, Samuel Volckertzoon thought it was a wild cat, and in 1696 Willem de Vlamingh, likened them to rats and named the island they were on 'Rotte nest' (rat's nest).

Answer: Five cent

A monotreme is an egg-laying mammal, and both species, the echidna and the platypus, are native to Australia. There are two species of echidna in Australia, the short-beaked, whose diet consists of ants and termites, and the long-beaked which subsists on worms and insect larvae. The echidna is featured on the Australian five cent coin.

Answer: Fish

There are four species of kookaburra native to Australia and while classed as kingfishers, they don't usually eat fish, although they have been known to steal goldfish from ponds or food from barbeques if there is no other food nearby. The four species of kookaburra are classed in the genus Dacelo, which was created by English zoologist William Leach in 1915.

The kookaburra has been depicted on stamps, an annual coin, in song, and was a mascot for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. The Australian men's field hockey team call themselves the 'Kookaburras'.

Answer: Fairy penguin

The fairy penguin, also known as the little penguin, is the smallest of all penguin breeds and is the only one to breed in Australia. Standing around 30cm tall, they are susceptible to predators so are usually found on islands around the southern mainland and in Tasmania. There is only one colony on the mainland, near Sydney, however the numbers there are dying off due to attacks by dogs and foxes. The largest colony of fairy penguins can be found on Phillip Island, near Melbourne. Fairy penguins also breed in New Zealand.

Although other species of penguin can be found on Australian territories, they are usually seen on the Antarctic islands of Macquarie, McDonald or Heard.

Answer: Parrot

Recognisable for its brightly coloured plumage, the rainbow lorikeet is a medium sized parrot and is common along the east coast of Australia, from Queensland through to South Australia. They have since been introduced to Tasmania, Western Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. The lorikeet is so prevalent in some areas that they are regarded as a pest because they can decimate fruit orchards. They gather in such large numbers at dusk that the noise is disruptive and the accumulated droppings befoul roadways, parks and picnic areas and cars.

Answer: Frilled-necked Lizard

The eastern water dragon (Intellagama lesueurii) is an arboreal lizard native to the Eastern coast of Australia. Its most notable feature is its upright posture and extremely long tail. They are fast runners, strong climbers and can stay underwater for up to 90 minutes. The frilled-necked lizard has a large brightly coloured ruff around its neck, which it extends when it is frightened.

Both the Water dragon and the frilled-necked lizard (Chlamydosaurus kingii) are classed in the suborder Iguania, while the goanna, blue-tongued lizard and Komodo dragon are in the sub-order Varinidae. The Komodo dragon is not Australian and is only found on a select few islands in Indonesia.

Answer: Kangaroo

Kangaroos are marsupials in the family Macropodidae, which comes from the Greek word for 'large foot'. However, the word 'gangurru' was used by the people in northeast Australia to describe the kangaroo, not the word for 'I don't know' that has erroneously been reported. The macropods include kangaroos, wallabies, quokkas and pademelons. They have very long back legs and a strong tail with they use for jumping, and they are able to travel long distances at a high speed with very little energy expenditure.

The red kangaroo is the largest breed of kangaroo and is featured on the Australian coat of arms, along with the emu. During WWII, RAAF pilots in Singapore used to stencil pictures of boxing kangaroos on the side of their planes to signify they were Australian not British. It wasn't until a flag featuring a boxing kangaroo was used during the 1983 America's Cup that the image became used as an unofficial sporting symbol.

Answer: Backward facing pouch

The wombat is a stocky, burrowing marsupial that digs extensive burrows with its sharp claws. Like other marsupials, their young are born after a short gestation and then spend the next few months developing in the pouch. The wombat's pouch is rear facing, so soil isn't deposited into the pouch when the wombat is digging.

There are three species of wombat and they can be found in southeast Australia and Tasmania with a small protected population in Queensland. They are the northern hairy-nosed wombat, the southern hair-nosed wombat and the common, or bare-nosed wombat. Wombats are nocturnal, herbivorous creatures who can grow up to a metre in length and 40kg in weight.

While they look cuddly and placid, they can attack humans if they feel threatened and are capable of giving a nasty bite.