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- Marsupials do not nurture their young.
- Marsupials are mammals and all mammals nurture their young. One only needs
to witness a mother marsupial and her offspring to ascertain the nurturing and care which is
displayed by the mother for her joey.
- Marsupials determined as 'common' are not endangered.
- Because of man's encroachment of the flatter regions of Australia, due to
urbanization and agriculture, many species of marsupials have suffered localized extinction.
The fact that certain species are still surviving in pockets of areas not inhabited by man does not
ensure their on- going survival.
- Macropods only eat herbs and plant material.
- All macropods will eat the odd grub, beetle or particular insect, if in a situation to do so.
- My joeys love eating human foods so it must be okay for them to eat!
- Foods that are not designed for the specific digestive system of an animal
can be very harmful to the animal either immediately or in the long term.
For example, a Brushtail Possum's digestive system is almost as specific as the
Koala's digestive tract. The Possum's digestive system has to be able to break down
the very toxic and fibrous leaves of Eucalyptus trees. When a Possum joey is fed mushy,
soft fruits and not introduced to its native, fibrous diet, the digestive system does not
need to work as efficiently as it is designed to. The Possum upon release will either not
be able to recognize what it needs to be eating in the wild or its digestive system may
find it difficult to digest the foods even if it does know what to eat.
This factor of incorrect management has been the major reason why Possums do not survive well
once released. All animals need to be fed 85% of their native diet and supplemented with
no more than 15% of other foods.
- Red Kangaroos do not need as much water to survive.
- Contrary to popular belief, Red Kangaroos require fluids often, either in the form of
green herbage or water. When the supply of green herbage dwindles in the harsh summer months,
the proportion of breeding females also diminishes. In Central Australia, half the mothers
cease to breed after three months of summer without rain.
- Swamp wallabies eat fish in the wild.
- This myth would be humorous if it wasn't a serious statement. The fact that
many species of marsupials will eat whatever is offered them in captivity, does not reflect
what they would normally eat in their natural habitat. All animals are virtually opportunistic,
(including man) and will eat whatever is offered them when in captivity.
It is up to us to have the common sense in only offering foodstuffs that their
digestive system is designed to accommodate.
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