Bridles Nailtail Wallaby
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ID#41
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Classification: mammal
Endangered Status: endangered Habitat: inland, semi-desert (some plants) The Bridled Nailtail Wallaby is named after its distinctive bridled marking running from the top of its head down the shoulders and then under its arms. The Bridled Nailtail Wallaby’s (also known as the Flashjack) mark is very hard to see if his arms are straight on its side therefore covering its marking. The Flashjack has grey fur but has yellowish fur on its underarms and on its stomach. The Flashjack has a length (including the tail) slightly over one meter. It can also race away at high speeds if given the reason to do so. Many people say that the Flashjack has the look of a tiny kangaroo. The Bridled Nailtail Wallaby is a nocturnal species. The Flashjack also has a very specific diet. That diet will include herbs and non-woody plants such as daises from open eucalypt woodlands. It may also eat grass or browse if the Flashjack’s natural diet is on short supply. The Flashjack prefers to live in groups but, not with so many other Flashjack’s. The Flashjack is a shy animal that will freeze when disturbed and shelter in a hollow log, or under a bush. The Nailtail may even lie flat in the long grass to seek camouflage from its predators such as the dog, cat or the fox. The Bridled Nailtail Wallaby breeds about 2.5 joeys a year in suitable conditions. The name for the young ones are (as I told you before) joeys. The mother will usually have a gestation period of about 23-24 days. And the pouch life of the joeys is about 120 days. The Flashjack breeds about two times a year under suitable conditions. Little is known about the population dynamics of the Flashjack. Recent observations indicate it is a social animal with distinct hierarchies. The Bridled Nailtail Wallaby is one of three Nailtail species. Only which two still exist at this current time. The Flashjack was believed extinct until 1973 when a small population was found in Queensland, Australia. The Northern Nailtail numbers remain steady in the Northern Territory. The Crescent Nailtail Wallaby was declared extinct in 1956 because of the predators such as the fox, the house cat and the dog. Only about one-thousand, Flashjack‘s are presumed to probably exist in the wild. Most Flashjack live on restricted property so the sightings are unlikely. |