Female platypuses produce milk, but their mammary glands don’t protrude as nipples. Instead, they secrete milk much like our skin secretes sweat.
Baby Platypus © Faye Bedford via LandLearn NSW
The Platypus is a unique Australian species. Along with echidnas, Platypuses are grouped in a separate order of mammals known as Monotremes, which are distinguished from all other mammals because they lay eggs.
The tusks of a Walrus can reach up to 1 metre in length.
Pacific Walrus © Jason Everett
Walruses are distinguished by their long white tusks, grizzly looking whiskers and large bodies which are filled with blubber. Their habitat around the Arctic Circle requires special equipment for survival.
Unlike most other whales, the beluga has a flexible neck that enables it to turn its head in all directions.
Beluga Whale © Clifton Hill
Belugas are also called white whales, and their unusual colour makes them one of the most familiar and easily distinguishable of all the whales. Calves are born grey or even brown and only fade to white as they become sexually mature around five years of age.
Bottlenose Dolphins give each other names by calling out to each other in individual whistling tunes.
Bottlenose Dolphin © Flip Nicklin
Out in the pristine waters of Sarasota bay in Florida, scientists from Mote Marine Lab have spent the past thirty years studying the local residents – Bottlenose Dolphins.
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In early 2014 researchers have recorded a Cuvier’s Beaked Whale diving for over two hours into the depths of just under 3000 meters (nearly two miles) below the ocean surface, which represents both the deepest and the longest dive ever documented for any marine mammal.
A hippo’s sweat is bright red in colour and protects the animal from UV rays and infectious bacteria.
The False Killer Whale develops long-term social bonds and has been known to share prey with its companions.
False Killer Whale group underwater, Hawaii © Flip Nicklin
Despite its name, the False Killer Whale (Pseudorca crassidens) is not a close relative of the Killer Whale or orca (Orcinus orca). The name of the False Killer Whale instead comes from a similarity between the skulls of these two species which are both members of the dolphin family Delphinidae. View full article »
The only known venomous mammal in Australia is the Platypus. It is an egg-laying mammal that spends most of its life underwater.
The Platypus is a true evolutionary survivor and has extraordinary skills from electroreception for orientation to a poisonous spine for defence and breeding purposes.
Female seals follow highly synchronised breeding seasons. They can control the development of the embryo, and put it on hold if necessary, until conditions are perfect for giving birth.
What’s in here Seal © ColdNightMist
Seals and sea lions spend most of their lives at sea. They come to shore once a year for two reasons: to give birth and to mate.
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Humpback whales sleep upside down.
