Hobbies And Interests
Mammals
Tasmania is the only home of several unique mammals, including the marsupial Tasmanian devil and the Tasmanian tiger, which is a wild dog that is striped like a tiger. The platypus and short beak echidna are egg-laying mammals that live in Tasmania. Other mammals include bandicoots, possums, kangaroos, wombats, sugar gliders, quolls, antechinuses, dunnarts and several species of bats and mice. Some mammals, such as the Tasmanian pademelon, used to live on the mainland as well as in Tasmania, but now exist only on the island due to habitat destruction and over-hunting.
Birds
Many bird species live in Tasmania; several are endemic to the state, meaning they only occur in Tasmania. Endemic bird species include the Tasmanian native hen, the green rosella, the dusky robin, the Tasmanian thornbill, the Tasmanian scrubwren, the scrubtit, the yellow wattlebird, the yellow-thoated, black-headed and strong-billed honeyeaters, the black currawong and the forty-spotted pardalote. Tasmania is also home to several rare or endangered bird species that are breeding endemics: they only breed in Tasmania and migrate there every year from mainland Australia. The orange-bellied parrot and the swift parrot are two examples of Tasmanian breeding endemics.
Reptiles
Three snake species and seven lizard species live in Tasmania. The area is also home to some crocodilians, including the Indo-Pacific crocodiles, which are the world's largest living reptiles. None of Tasmania's reptile species lay eggs; they all give birth to live young. This is one way reptiles have adapted to living in Tasmania's cool, dry forests. Reptiles in Tasmania tend to live in bush areas near rocks or hollow logs, so the destruction of Tasmania bush endangers these animals. Introduced animals such cats, laughing kookaburras, lyrebirds and foxes also pose a threat to Tasmania reptiles.
Frogs
Tasmania is home to 11 frog species. These include the green and gold frog, the brown tree frog and the Tasmanian tree frog, all of which belong to the largest genus of Australian frogs, Litoria. Other Tasmanian frogs include the smooth froglet, the eastern banjo frog, the striped and spotted marsh frogs, the southern toadlet, and the moss, common and Tasmanian froglets. Frogs in Tasmania are threatened by the chytrid fungus, a potentially lethal disease that threatens a third of the world's amphibians.