There are only 600 bilbies left in Australia due to the introduction of rabbits by European settlers. Bilbies are now endangered due to predators and habitat loss. Australians have made bilbies a symbol of Easter, with proceeds from chocolate bilbies going towards conservation efforts. The idea of replacing the Easter Bunny with the bilby began […]
Australia was settled by humans 42,000-48,000 years ago, encountering megafauna that later became extinct. Europeans arrived in the 17th century, and British colonization began in 1788. Indigenous peoples suffered mistreatment and disease, and traditional land ownership was not recognized until 1992. The colonies became independent and united as a federation in 1901. Today, Australia is […]
Australia is as big as the US but has only one-tenth the population. Sydney has the Opera House and Harbor Bridge, Canberra has the Houses of Parliament and Uluru, and Melbourne has shops and museums. The Great Barrier Reef is a natural wonder. Many people are surprised to learn that the country of Australia is […]
Pleistocene Australia was home to many exotic animals, including the largest kangaroo and marsupial ever known, as well as giant flightless birds and reptiles like the ambush predator snake Wonambi and the dragon-like Megalania. Many of these animals went extinct when humans arrived on the continent, but some survived until the 19th century. Numerous exotic […]
