Leslie Massey
The Australian Outback is a remote, sparsely populated area of Australia with a diverse set of animal species. The region is known for its unique terrain and climate, home to many remarkable creatures. While the Outback is often associated with arid deserts, it actually encompasses several climatic zones, including tropical and monsoonal climates in the north, arid regions in the red centre, and semi-arid and temperate climates in the south. With its low human population density and intact natural environment, the Outback provides a haven for a variety of wildlife, including some of the longest animals in Australia.
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What You'll Learn
- Saltwater crocodiles, or salties, are found in the Outback
- The Dingo Fence, one of the world's longest man-made structures, is in the Outback
- The Red Kangaroo is Australia's largest native land animal
- The Stimson's Python is a python species found in the Outback
- The Outback is home to a variety of lizards, including the Sand Goanna
Saltwater crocodiles, or salties, are found in the Outback
Saltwater crocodiles, or "salties", are found in the Outback. They are one of the most dangerous animals in Australia, and the largest living reptile in the world in terms of mass, weighing between 1000 and 1500 kg. The average male saltwater crocodile is around 5 metres in length, while females are significantly smaller, rarely surpassing 3 metres. The largest saltwater crocodile ever recorded was 6.3 metres long, but individuals of up to 7 metres have probably lived in the past. Saltwater crocodiles are native to saltwater habitats, brackish wetlands, and freshwater rivers. They are found in northern Australia and extend to eastern India and Southeast Asia.
Saltwater crocodiles have a huge range and are well-adapted to life in saltwater. They are able to spend days or even weeks at sea, drifting and swimming hundreds of kilometres, and possibly hunting en route. They are apex predators with a broad diet, including small reptiles, fish, turtles, wading birds, wild pigs, buffalo, and even larger prey such as livestock. They have the most powerful bite force of any living animal and are known to be aggressive and territorial.
While human encounters with saltwater crocodiles in the Outback are rare, they are still responsible for an average of one to two deaths per year in Australia. It is important to be aware of the danger posed by these crocodiles when travelling in the northern Australian Outback and to act in a crocodile-safe manner.
The discovery of a 46-metre-long siphonophore in the deep sea off Australia's coast highlights the incredible biodiversity that exists in these underwater canyons. This expedition also collected other deep-sea animals that had not been previously documented, showcasing the richness of marine life in Australian waters.
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The Dingo Fence, one of the world's longest man-made structures, is in the Outback
The Outback is a remote, vast, and sparsely populated area of Australia. It is home to a diverse set of animal species, including kangaroos, emus, dingos, pythons, crocodiles, and birds like budgerigars, cockatoos, corellas, and galahs. The Dingo Fence, one of the world's longest man-made structures, is also located in the Outback.
The Dingo Fence, also known as the Dog Fence or the Wild Dog Barrier Fence, stretches over 5,600 kilometers across three Australian states: South Australia, New South Wales, and Queensland. It was built to keep dingoes and wild dogs out of agricultural areas and grazing land in the southeast of the continent. The fence varies in construction, with some sections made of wire mesh and others comprising multi-strand electric fencing.
The history of the Dingo Fence dates back to the early 20th century when sheep graziers proposed creating a long fence to protect their flocks from dingoes. By the 1950s, around a third of the continent was encircled by wire fencing. The fence has been effective in keeping dingoes out of certain areas, and dingoes inside the fence are routinely shot, trapped, or poisoned.
The Dingo Fence has had a significant impact on the environment. For example, the land on the dingo side of the fence stays greener for longer after rainfall, and dingo country tends to have more biodiversity and small native mammals. The absence of dingoes has also led to changes in vegetation, with more kangaroos and less grass cover between sand dunes on the side of the fence where dingoes are rare.
The fence has not been without controversy. It traverses the traditional lands of 23 language groups, and researchers have argued that extending the fence further would be a "step backwards," given its violent history of being used to keep First Nations people off the land. Despite this, construction on a 32-kilometer extension began in December 2023 and is expected to be completed in late 2024.
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The Red Kangaroo is Australia's largest native land animal
The Red Kangaroo, or Osphranter Rufus, is the largest terrestrial mammal native to Australia. It is also the largest extant marsupial in the world. Males, referred to as "Big Reds" by Australians, can grow up to 1.6 metres (5 feet 3 inches) in length, with their tail adding a further 1.2 metres (3 feet 11 inches). They can weigh up to 92kg. Females are considerably smaller, with a length of 85-105cm (33-41 inches) and a weight of up to 39kg.
Red kangaroos are found across mainland Australia, particularly in semi-arid and arid regions, except for the more fertile areas such as southern Western Australia and the eastern and southeastern coasts. They are well-adapted to the harsh desert environment and are an abundant species. They are herbivores and primarily graze on grasses, as well as eating forbs and leaves from shrubs. They can survive when water is scarce as the foliage they eat provides them with their water needs. They are also able to pick and choose where they spend their time depending on the conditions. During hot summers, they shelter under shady trees during the day and emerge to feed in the cooler evenings or after dark. After rainfall, they spend most of their time in the woodlands, where there is both shelter and food.
Red kangaroos are an iconic Australian animal and are steeped in Indigenous culture. They are protected by legislation but are so numerous that there is a regulated harvest of their hide and meat. The kangaroo industry is worth about A$270 million each year and employs over 4000 people. However, competition with livestock and rabbits poses a threat to red kangaroo populations.
Red kangaroos are known for their powerful leap on their large hind legs, which also allows them to travel long distances in a short time. They have a long, muscular tail that helps them maintain balance. Like other marsupials, female red kangaroos have a pouch where their offspring, called joeys, undergo postnatal development. Female red kangaroos also have the unique ability to delay the birth of their baby until their previous joey has left the pouch, a process known as embryonic diapause.
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The Stimson's Python is a python species found in the Outback
The Stimson's Python, also known as the large-blotched python, is a python species endemic to Australia. It is named after Andrew Stimson, a herpetologist at the British Museum. Stimson's Pythons are highly polymorphic, with patterns and coloration that vary widely throughout their range. They are typically characterised by a pattern of large reddish-brown blotches along their body, with a pale background ranging from beige to straw-coloured.
Stimson's Pythons inhabit the largest range of any Australian python species, including the dry inland areas of the Outback. They are found in a wide variety of habitats, including deserts, Eucalyptus woodlands, arid shrublands, and rocky areas. They live in holes and crevices made by other animals in termite mounds. They are often found in sparsely vegetated rocky areas, dry woodlands, and watercourse gorges.
Stimson's Pythons are non-venomous snakes that trap and asphyxiate their prey. Their diet consists of small mammals, frogs, birds, and lizards, which they can sense using their heat-sensing abilities. They flick their tongues to taste the air and use their eyes to locate their food. Like many other snakes, they can go for months without feeding.
Stimson's Pythons are a small python species, with an average adult length of about 34 inches. They lay a clutch of 5-15 eggs, which the mother incubates for approximately 55 days by coiling herself around them. The young pythons are able to look after themselves, and they feed on pinky mice as they grow larger. Captive breeding of Stimson's Pythons is quite common, and they are known for their docile attitude and adaptability.
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The Outback is home to a variety of lizards, including the Sand Goanna
The Outback is a remote, vast, and sparsely populated area of Australia. While it is often imagined as an arid desert, the Outback encompasses a range of climatic zones, from tropical and monsoonal in the north to arid, semi-arid, and temperate in the south. The region is characterised by its low population density and a largely intact natural environment.
The Outback is home to a diverse array of wildlife, including lizards such as the Sand Goanna, also known as the Sand Monitor, Gould's Monitor, or Racehorse Goanna. This species, with the scientific name Varanus gouldii, is a large Australian monitor lizard found throughout the mainland, excluding the far south and southeast.
The Sand Goanna can grow up to 160 cm in length and weigh up to 6 kg, making it the second-largest goanna species in Australia after the Perentie. It is distinguished by its beautifully patterned scales, which are greenish-grey with ringed yellow spots, particularly prominent on its tail and lower torso. The head of the Sand Goanna resembles that of a snake, with yellow patterns on the sides, and the end of its tail is typically white, cream, or yellow.
These lizards are diurnal, meaning they are active during the day and sleep at night. They are voracious eaters with a varied diet, consuming almost anything smaller than themselves, including insects, small lizards, mammals, birds, amphibians, reptile eggs, crustaceans, scorpions, and even venomous snakes. Sand Goannas are known for their strong sense of smell, using their long, forked tongues to "taste" the air and navigate their environment.
Sand Goannas are terrestrial reptiles, often found in woodland habitats associated with sandy soils. They are more commonly sighted during the wet season than the dry season. These lizards are skilled at digging, using their strong legs, sharp claws, and snout to construct large burrows for shelter. They may also take refuge in abandoned rabbit warrens or rock escarpments, concealing the entrance to their burrow for added protection.
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Frequently asked questions
The longest animal in the world was discovered in a submarine canyon off the coast of Western Australia and measured 150 feet (45 metres). It was a siphonophore, a deep-sea predator made up of many small clones that act as one organism.
The Outback is home to a diverse set of animal species, but none that are particularly long. The Red Kangaroo, Australia's largest native terrestrial animal, can grow to a height of 2.1 metres (6.9 ft) and weigh 91 kg (201 lb). Saltwater crocodiles, also known as "salties", can grow to similar lengths.
Dingoes, emus, koalas, snakes, lizards, and birds such as cockatoos and budgerigars are commonly found in the Outback.
