BBC Wildlife - UK (2019-12)

BBC Wildlife December 2019

WALRUSES

17

AUSTRALIA

“AvisittotheDaintreeis

likegoingbackintime,”

saysLucy,“andthe

cassowarywehadcome

tofilmwasalmostlikea

dinosaur.Ourstarwas

CrinkleCut,namedfor

thecrinklyshapeofhis

casque.Thesebirdsare

soraretoseeinthewild

thatI waitedwithbaited

breath.ThenI sawhim

andhischicksforthe

firsttime.Hecaughtme

unawaresandthebeady

lookhegavemewas

humbling.Thisbirdwas

verymuchlettingme

hangoutinhisforest.He

wasanincrediblycaring

andgentlefather,andit

waswonderfultowatch

hischicksgrow,

buttragedystruck.

Whentheydied,

andthishappened

oncemore,we

weredevastated.

It’salwaystough

whenyoursubject

hassetbackslike

this,andbecause

we’dspentso

muchtimewith

him,it washarder

thanmost.”

AssistantproducerLucyWells

ongettingattachedtoan

unluckycassowary.

he continent of Australasia

can mean different things to different

people. What is agreed is that it’s

part of the geographical region

of Oceania, but the focus of the

Australia episode in Seven Worlds

is the island continent itself – the

mainland of Australia, the smallest

of the traditional seven continents.

Australia is the lowest, flattest

and driest permanently inhabited

continent. About 70 per cent of the

land is desert or semi-desert, mainly

in the centre and to the west, but

there are tropical rainforests in the

northeast, including the Daintree

forest, one of the oldest on Earth,

and snow-capped mountains in the

southeast – the Australian Alps. Soils

generally tend to be nutrient poor and

relatively unproductive, yet the island

is biodiversity rich. Many species are

found nowhere else on the planet, due

in part to Australia’s isolation.

Most of Australia’s native

mammals are pouched marsupials or

egg-laying monotremes, and the arid

conditions favour reptiles, with 755

known species, including five of the

most venomous snakes in the world.

It means Australia has the most

reptile species of any continent.

Realm of the reptiles

The biggest reptile is the saltwater

crocodile or ‘saltie’, but the film crew

were more interested in its smaller

cousin, the freshwater crocodile,

known locally as the ‘freshie’. It’s

no longer than 4m, with a more

slender snout and smaller teeth than

its man-eating relative, and one

T

FIELD NOTES

Little red flying foxes cope

with Australia’s scorching

heat by quenching their

thirst in the Roper River

but it’s a risky business,

lurking beneath the

surface are crocodiles in

search of an easy meal.

Bats & cassowary: BBC NHU

Most of the fruit in Daintree is

too big for cassowary chicks to

eat without their father’s help.