Some
Cape York animals are found nowhere else in Australia.
Many Cape York animals
are the same as the animals in the rest of north Queensland, and the
rest of
Australia.
But
thanks to some land bridges that existed at times between the tip of
Cape York and
our
neighbour Papua New Guinea, there
are
some species of birds, plants and
animals that are only found in Cape York and New Guinea,
and
nowhere
else in the world.
Cape York is quite famous for that fact, and many people want to see
those birds and animals on their trip.
The
thing is, they are not
easy to see,
but if you want to put some effort in
and go
spotlighting and bird watching, it is possible.
Unique
Cape
York Mammals
Some of
the most famous ones are the cuscus
and striped possum. The striped possum
is found in Daintree
rainforests
as well as in the McIllwraith and Iron
Range rainforests. There
are two speices ofcuscus
-
one lives in McIllwraith
and Iron
Range rainforests, and the other one in northern Cape York.
Cuscus.
None of
them are easy to
come across,
unless you go
spotlighting night time (or have some really good luck at dusk or dawn).
Unique
Cape
York Reptiles
Another unique
animal is the green tree python,
which may first look like the much more common green tree snake, which
is found in tropical rainforests further south. The green python is only
found in Iron Range and McIllwraith Range rainforests.
It climbs on branches in the bush
only about a metre above
the ground. They seem to be territorial - the same
individual is in the
same place every night.
Green
Tree Python
Unique
Cape York Birds
Eclectus parrots
are one of the rare birds that are only found up here. Males are green
and females are red - I have read that it is because
females sit in the
nest and their colour acts as a warning sign for any intruders, while
males
fly around foraging (and feeding the female), so the green colour is
a perfect camouflage.
They were the birds that were taken in the old days from the famous Smugglers
Tree in Iron Range
National park. Eclectus
parrots are only found in the rainforests
of eastern Cape York.
Palm
cockatoo and eclectus parrot.
Another
species of birds
that
are found nowhere else in Australia, are the famous palm
cockatoos.
They are by far the
largest cockatoos in Australia. They are also known
to be smarter than other cockatoos, and have a more complicated social
system.
They are not very easy to see on a brief trip to Cape York. Like other
birds, they are easiest to spot when they are most
active - at dusk and dawn.
Other
Unique Cape York Birds
and Animals
The
above were the most
famous ones, but there are many others such as (some
birdwings), five species of insects (endemic
beetles, termites
and cicadas) and butterfliesfrogs,
and 18 species of reptiles
(skinks, geckoes, monitors and snakes).
Birds that
weren't mentioned
above are golden shouldered parrot, white streaked honeyeater, fawn
breasted bowerbird, yellow billed kingfisher, and red cheeked parrot.
And mammals
that weren't mentioned above include rufous spiny
bandicoot, Cape York melomys, Lakeland Downs mouse, Cape York wallaby
and bare backed fruit bat.
Cuscus
Cuscus is
the most famous one of all Cape York animals.
We have
other unique animals
that are found nowhere else
in
Australia (but instead in our northern neighbour Papua New Guinea), but
this is the most unique
one.
The others belong to the groups of parrots, cockatoos, snakes etc, but there is not even another animal
called cuscus in Australia.
Its closest relatives amongst Australian animals are possums, but it is an animal larger than possums. There are
two species found
in Cape York (PNG has more).
Both are solitary and live
up in trees.
Both eat plant material such as leaves, flowers and fruit (meat eating
differs, see below).
And both species are not
endangered.
Southern
Common Cuscus
This
species
is
only found in the rainforests in the eastern Cape York peninsula, such
as Iron Range.
It lives in tree hollows,
and it is not known for sure how much meat it eats, or really even if
it does eat any meat at all.
It is brownish grey
and has a lighter belly.
It is the smaller of the
two species, growing up to 40cm in length and weighing up
to 2.2kg.
It is also the one less
common to see.
Common
Spotted Cuscus
This
species
is
found on the
northern Cape York
peninsula,
about north of Coen.
It is grey,
with a creamy belly, and the male has spots on the back.
It is larger than the
southern species, with max length 58cm, and max weigh
4.9kg.
Unlike the southern species, it
does not use a shelter, and it is known that it does
include meat in its diet - insects, bird eggs, even small birds.
It also has a wider
habitat. Apart from tropical rainforest, it can also live
in mangroves and open eucalypt woodland.
And it is also the
species that is easiest to spot, partly because it is not
100% nocturnal.
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guide totally for FREE.
It
contains information that helps you getting started with planning of your trip.
You get to make early-stages desicions such as when to go, how long time you
should take, how to get
there and get
around, where
to stay (general info), what
will it cost..
and a short insight to what is there to see and do in Cape York.
This complete 300 pages
travel guide is all you need before and during your trip. Besides the
background chapters on the peninsula's history and wildlife; and the comprehensive detail about all
the places (down to prices, opening hours and full contact
detail), it has invaluable information on at least 10 four wheel drive tracks,
at least 30 guaranteed FREE
camping spots on the Cape (and at least 150 on your way to
the Cape), at least 40 best
swimming holes, all mapped; as well as practical things -
from fuel, roads, wireless internet and mobile phone reception,
how to deal with the national
parks booking rules; and Aboriginal land entrance and camping permits
and alcohol restrictions - to vehicle preparation and accessories and necessary recovery
gear by my vehicle-recovery-guy partner).
Not to mention locals'
tips on how to spot that croc and palm cockatoo ;-)
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This site uses British
English, which is the English we use in
Australia.
Disclaimer:
Although
best efforts have been made to ensure that all the information on this
website is correct, this site is not to be blamed should there be a
mistake.
This is the ORIGINAL Cape York Travel Guide run Locally on the Peninsula.