Orange County NC Website
DocuSign Envelope ID:8COC6AOF-56EE-46F5-A733-01 OA357A1 EFA <br /> Unique creatures ... <br /> *emu - second largest bird in the world, behind the ostrich; too large to fly, but can run as fast <br /> as a galloping horse (about 30 mph); female emus lay the eggs - one of which can be about 12 times as <br /> large as a hen's eggs - but male emus sit on the eggs until they hatch and then care for the young; live <br /> everywhere but the very top of Australia; adult height is 5 to 6.5 feet. <br /> *frilled dragon (frill-neck lizard) - has folds of skin that form a large, colorful, fan-like collar <br /> around its head; when frightened, opens its mouth and makes a loud hissing noise as the frill opens up <br /> like an umbrella; if need be, can travel very quickly on its two hind legs; eats mainly insects, but will eat <br /> other lizards; grows to 28-35 inches long; lives in northern Australia. <br /> *kangaroo - more than 40 species of this marsupial live Down Under, from small tree kangaroos, <br /> which live in north Queensland's mountain rainforests and can weight 13-16.5 pounds, to the red 'roo, <br /> which can be as tall as a man and weigh 180 pounds. Kangaroos have exceptionally powerful rear legs for <br /> hopping: the Eastern grey kangaroo has reached bounding speeds of 40 mph and jumped nearly 44 feet in <br /> length, while the red has jumped more than 10 feet vertically. <br /> *koala - marsupial that eats almost exclusively the leaves of certain eucalyptus trees; diet is so <br /> low in energy that it sleeps up to 20 hours a day and rarely leaves safety of tree; name "koala" means "no <br /> drink" in certain Aboriginal languages, because koalas obtain most of their water from eucalyptus leaves; <br /> only mammal, other than the greater glider and ringtail possum, which can survive on a diet of eucalyptus <br /> leaves; has rear-opening pouch, like wombat; is not a bear; lives in eucalypt forests of eastern Australia; <br /> adult weight is 24-26 pounds. <br /> *kookaburra - two species of this bird are the blue-winged kookaburra and the laughing <br /> kookaburra; the laughing kookaburra is the better-known and larger of the two - it can grow to more <br /> than 17 inches long and is often heard letting loose a loud, chuckle-like call; its cry is often imitated <br /> through the didgeridoo; while the blue-winged kookaburra prefers to hunt over water, the laughing <br /> kookaburra usually hunts on land for insects, frogs, reptiles and rodents. <br /> *platypus - one of only three egg-laying mammals on earth, it has a bill and webbed feet like a <br /> duck and waterproof fur like a seal; the male has venomous spurs in its hind ankles; walks with a lizard- <br /> like gait; has been around since the time of dinosaurs, more than 100 million years ago; adults weigh 1.5 <br /> to 6 pounds; eats crayfish, worms, shrimp and insects; spends almost all of its life underground or <br /> underwater, in or near fresh water along the east coast of the mainland and in Tasmania. <br /> *saltwater crocodile - world's largest members of the crocodilian family; has reached 23 feet in <br /> length and is considered extremely dangerous; lives in estuaries, rivers, swamps, floodplains and the sea <br /> of northern Australia; was almost hunted to extinction before becoming a protected species in 1972; <br /> smaller, freshwater crocs can also be found Down Under; one of the most notable differences between <br /> crocodiles and alligators is that when a croc's mouth is closed, its lower canine teeth can still be seen, <br /> while a gator's teeth are hidden when its mouth is closed. <br /> *short-beaked echidna - also known as spiny anteater; one of only three species of egg-laying <br /> mammals, called monotremes (others are platypus and long-beaked echidna, the later of which exists <br /> only in New Guinea); found throughout Australia in bush; weighs between 4.5 and 15 pounds. <br /> *Tasmanian devil - Australia's largest marsupial carnivore; was common on mainland until about <br /> late 1500s, but today is only found in Tasmania; nocturnal, hunts from dusk to dawn for dead animals, <br /> insects and small mammals; has aggressive temper when cornered or threatened, but is not considered <br /> dangerous to humans or their domestic animals; weighs 15-20 pounds. <br /> *water-holding frog - in dry conditions, this frog digs a burrow at the foot of a bush or tree and <br /> hibernates; its bladder serves as a storage tank for water and shed skin forms a water-saving cocoon; <br /> after rain falls, the frog surfaces, sheds the cocoon, feeds and breeds; was used as a water source by <br />