Dear Rick,G’day from topsy-turvy Australia! It might be late fall back home, but down here it’s almost summer. (Australia is in the Southern Hemisphere, so seasons here are the opposite of ours in the United States.) Seasons aren’t the only things that are different Down Under. I’ve never met so many strange animals in my life.

There are mammals that lay eggs! Birds that are taller than humans! And it seems that everywhere I turn, there’s an animal with a dangerous bite. Naturally, I LOVE it here! Can’t wait to show you all the photos I’ve taken of my new Aussie friends. More later—time to head back to the Outback! (That’s the dry, wild middle of the country.)

Wish you were here,Scarlett

by Scarlett Fox, with help from Hannah Schardt

ALL PHOTOS FROM MINDEN PICTURES, PAGES 6–13: JÜRGEN FREUND/NPL (6L) >; BROOK WHATNALL/NGCREATIVE (6M); THOMAS MARENT (6R); ROB DRUMMOND/BIA (7L); KEVIN SCHAFER (7M) >; MARTIN WILLIS (7R)

black-headed python eastern water dragon sugar glider emu quokka dingo

AUSTRALIA

ANTARCTICA

ASIA

EQUATOR

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G’Day, Zelda!

Australia is full of your cousins—

marsupials! As you know, marsupials

(mar-SOO-pee-ulz) give birth to tiny,

helpless babies. Most have pouches for

carrying their babies until they are old

enough to follow Mom around. Opossums

like you are the only marsupials in the

United States. But Australia has more than

150 kinds! Love, Scarlett

The cat-sized spotted-tailed quoll is the largest meat-eating marsupial in mainland Australia. (The Tasmanian devil is bigger but lives on only one island.) The quoll is happiest in Australia’s rainforests, where there are plenty of trees to climb and insects, birds, and snakes to hunt.

Like its kangaroo cousins, this yellow-footed rock wallaby hops from place to place. Its long, striped tail helps it keep its balance in steep, rocky places where other animals would struggle to get around.

TO:Zelda Possum

101 Oak Tree Lane

Deep Green Wood, USA

MARTIN WILLIS

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A Tasmanian devil makes a loud, growly

scream when it feels threatened. It’s the

size of a miniature poodle, but it can catch

prey as large as a small kangaroo.

A numbat is only as big as a squirrel. But it eats as many as 20,000 termites a day. Its long tongue and sticky spit are just right for slurping up the ant-like insects.

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With the body of a beaver and the bill and feet of a duck, the platypus is an animal oddball. It’s a mammal—but the female platypus lays eggs. And the male has sharp points tipped with poison above his back feet!

This weedy sea dragon looks showy up close. But from a distance, those “weedy” bits along its back and tail look just like pieces of kelp. So this seahorse relative blends right in with the waving seaweed around it.

Dear Rick,Did you know that most of the

animals in Australia’s oceans are

found nowhere else on Earth? The

rivers and streams here are also

packed with amazing critters.

Just today, I got nose-to-bill

with a platypus. I’m just glad it

wasn’t a crocodile!

More soon,

Scarlett

TO:Ranger Rick Raccoon

Hollow Oak Tree

Deep Green Wood, USA

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The blue-ringed

octopus is smaller

than a grownup’s

hand. But it is one

of the deadliest

animals in the sea.

When it flashes its

bright blue rings,

watch out! It may

bite—and its little

body holds enough

venom to kill 10

people.

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These guys may look fierce. But Australia’s freshwater crocodiles are smaller and calmer than the more famous saltwater crocs. A “freshie” spends its days lounging in an inland creek or river. But when a tasty fish swims by—snap! The croc’s bite is lightning fast.

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Over 2,000 species of grasshoppers live in Australia, but the Leichhardt’s grasshopper must be the most beautiful. It doesn’t get around much, though. It lives its whole life on a single plant, working its way higher and higher as it snacks on the leaves.

When a frilled lizard is relaxed, the flaps of skin around its face just hang loosely. But when it’s scared, the frills pop open like a sideways umbrella. That makes the lizard look bigger and scarier. If that doesn’t work, the lizard turns tail and races for the nearest tree.

If the platypus isn’t strange

enough for you, meet the echidna (ih-KID-nuh). Like the

platypus, it seems to be a mish-mash of other animals:

Like a bird, it lays eggs. Like

a koala, it has a pouch for its

babies. And like a hedgehog,

it has sharp spines on most

of its body. When it spots a

threat such as a dingo, the

echidna uses sharp claws to dig a shallow hole for its

soft underside. Only its sharp

prickles stay exposed. That

dingo may decide to have something else for dinner! =

Hey, Boom,I saw an echidna today! It was

really cute, but you wouldn’t want

to give it a hug. Here’s a joke for

you: What did the echidna say to

the cactus? Answer: Are you my

mother? I can’t believe I’m going home

tomorrow. I’ll really miss this place.

Australia is weird and wonderful—

just like you!

Love,Scarlett

TO:Boomer Badger

19 Dusty Burrow Road

Deep Green Wood, USA

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The laughing kookaburra is known for its

call, which sounds like a cackling laugh. The

kookaburra is so popular in Australia that it

was picked as a mascot for the Olympics held

here in the year 2000.

HEĄR IT!

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