"Teaching people about the world in which we live."

Southern Islands of Australia
by Lara Steele

Tasmania and Kangaroo Island share a few things in common. They are both islands. They both support a diverse population of flora and fauna. They are both in Southern Australia. However, they are also unique in their own way.

Though Tasmania has a large population for an island of its size, with many cultural activities and much history of it's own, it is more well known for its unique animals. There is good reason for this. Many of the animals that are native to Tasmania, can not be found anywhere else in the world. Tasmania’s geographic location, separated from the mainland as an island, and its climate are well suited to support a diverse and thriving fauna.

Tasmania is probably best known for it’s native marsupial, the Tasmanian devil. However many more animals call Tasmania their home, and they are as unique in appearance as the Tasmanian devil. The wallaby, the Tasmanian tiger, and the wombat are just examples of a few of these native animals.

Tasmania shares some of these unique animals with Kangaroo Island, which is a wilderness refuge. The koala is also a resident of this island, although not an original native of the island.. Most of the animals that live on Kangaroo Island are nocturnal.

Due to the protected status of the island and its relative isolation from the mainland there is a proliferation of fauna. In fact, Koalas, a species that was introduced onto the island in the 1930’s, number so many that ways are being sought to move them from the island to the mainland.

These two southern Islands in Australia share a diverse native flora and fauna. While each is different, they are still very similar. Kangaroo Island being less populated and having much of it as a nature conservatory, Tasmania being larger and supporting more population.