Questions 37-40
 

38 There is debate about which species of wallaby are present in New Zealand because
A some seem to have disappeared since they were introduced.
B records from the time they were introduced are incomplete.
C they are sometimes mistaken for a type of possum.
D they are shy creatures that avoid human contact.

39 On the wallaby track’ refers to people who
A travel around without a fixed home.
B live in areas where wallabies can be found.
C follow the trails of wallabies in order to hunt them.
D make their home in a remote part of the country.

40 The greatest danger to the survival of wallabies is
A predator species that have been introduced to Australia.
B animals that eat vegetation that wallabies need to survive.
C native animals that have increased in numbers.
D destruction of the places where they live.

 The wallaby
Wallabies are small to medium-sized marsupials that inhabit the Australian continent and its surrounding islands. The word wallaby comes from the indigenous Australian language.

A 
While the largest wallabies can measure 6 feet from head to tail, as big or bigger than
some kangaroos, most species of wallaby are smaller than kangaroos. The smallest
are around 12 inches when fully-grown. They have an upright posture supported
by two disproportionately large hind legs and feet, small forelimbs and a large
thick tail. Wallabies have strong hind legs
that enable them to travel at speed; their
sizeable Achilles tendons assist them in
hopping. Besides hopping, the hind legs
can also be used to deliver hard kicks to
other wallabies. Their tails are not able to
grip but are essential in that they provide
balance when a wallaby is stationary or
in motion.
Because wallabies are herbivores, they have
a large jaw to allow them to chew grass and
plants. This accounts for their elongated
faces. One distinction between a wallaby and
a kangaroo is the teeth: wallabies have flat
molars at the back, while kangaroos’ back
teeth are curved.

B

Wallabies generally prefer bushy or rugged
areas in remote locations of Australia, rather
than the open arid plains that kangaroos prefer.
Some smaller wallabies, such as pademelons,
live in the forest. Often wallabies are named for
the type of area where they reside, e.g. shrub
wallabies, brush wallabies and rock wallabies.

From 1858 until 1870, about 12 species of
marsupial were taken from Australia and
liberated in New Zealand, but only the brush¬
tailed opossum and the wallabies adapted
successfully to the new land. Inadequate
early accounts of which exact species were
introduced and where they were initially
taken from, mean that there is still confusion
with regards to which species of wallaby are
actually present in New Zealand today.

In 1896, the acclaimed Australian painter
Frederick McCubbin painted On the wallaby
track, showing a family in the bush without a
home, the woman with a child on her lap and
the man boiling water for tea. The painting’s
title derives from the Australian colloquial
term ‘on the wallaby track’ describingthe
wandering rural workers who moved from
place to place for work and alluding to the
nomadic tendency of wallabies. 

  c
In terms of their young, like all marsupials,
wallabies are born at an early stage of
development. Young wallabies, like young
kangaroos, are called a joey. As soon as
they are born, they crawl into their mothers’
pouches and stay there, generally for around
two months. At first, the joey spends varying
lengths of time out of the pouch, grazing and
acquiring vital survival skills. When it needs
to sleep or it feelsit is in danger; however,
the joey will return to the pouch. In some
species, joeys stay in the pouch for up to a
year or until the next joey is born. However,
for most wallabies the young are thought to
be independent by 9 months.

There is significant variation when it comes
to the daily habits of wallabies. The larger
wallaby species tend to be diurnal (mostly
active throughout the day) and live in mobs,
or groups, whereas smaller species are
generally nocturnal (active at night) and
solitary. 

D
There are animals that are native to Australia
that have always hunted the wallaby; these
include dingoes, wedge-tailed eagles and
Tasmanian devils. However, it is species
that were brought to Australia by settlers
that have posed more danger. Foxes, cats
and dogs have all taken their toll on wallaby
numbers, as have herbivores like rabbits,
sheep, goats and cattle that compete with
wallabies for food. However, it is human
activity that has had the most impact; land
clearing and burning of bushlands have
left great numbers of wallabies effectively
homeless and without a source of food

E
Four species of wallaby have already gone
extinct. There are others that are classified as
vulnerable or endangered, which means that
they face a high or very high risk of extinction
in the wild. Measures are being taken to help
particular species, includingconserving their
habitats and breeding them in captivity, so
they may be reintroduced into the wild at a
later point when conditions are favourable.
While wallabies are considered by some
farmers to be a pest, efforts are being made
by the Australian Society for Kangaroos
to stop farmers culling kangaroos and
wallabies. Instead they advocate that they
should be captured and relocated.