the echolopaperMagnolia elementary school student newspaper
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by Sam Long In Australia lives the small animal known as the Wallaby. A Wallaby is a marsupial, the marsupial family includes well known animals like kangaroos. Marsupials usually have big feet, strong legs, and defend themselves by kicking with them. Like kangaroos, baby wallabies are called joeys. Also, like kangaroos, the female wallabies have pouches that the joeys stay in for usually about nine months, though when threatened they will most likely jump right back in again. There are many different types of wallabies. Some wallabies are about six feet tall at most and can sometimes go down to three feet tall. Wallabies are herbivores, which means that they mostly feed on grass and herbs, but when there’s a drought roots become their main source of food. Wallabies live in many different places. Places like rocky hills and boulders, as well as sandstone outcrops, caves, and forests. Wallabies are endangered because their habitat is threatened by people removing their native vegetation. New exotic plants are also destroying the herbs wallabies can eat by taking all the good soil’s water so that the other plants have none and die. Forest fires also can destroy a lot of their land. That takes away their home as well as their food. It makes it very hard for the wallabies because it leaves them exposed to bad weather as well as having no place to hide from predators, and we can all probably imagine why the loss of food is bad for you. “Starvation anyone?” Didn’t think so. They are also getting hit by cars and trucks which will almost always costs them their lives. In Australia the main species of wallaby living there is the Brush Tailed Rock Wallaby. There are only about 15-30 thousand left. It might seem like they are fine. For some people fifteen thousand is a really big number, but that’s not the case when it comes to animals. Fifteen thousand is quite small compared to the other numbers of types of animal species in the world. They really need our help! They are starting to move onto the code red zone, but we can help. We can give money and donate to their friends right here! https://www.rockwallaby.org.au/help-brush-tailed-rock-wallaby/donate-brush-tailed-rock-wallaby/ You can help keep them alive! Donate and help another animal live a bit longer! See you next time on Animal of the Month!
2 Comments
Mr. Skoog
3/12/2021 08:45:43 am
Thanks for highlighting this important animal for us all!
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Jen Lenga-Long
3/24/2021 07:34:22 pm
Great article! I learned a lot from this one. Thanks, Sam!
Reply
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Banner art by Cattelaya Kramer
Land Acknowledgement
We at the Echolopaper acknowledge that we are on the traditional land of the Coast Salish people, including the Duwamish people past and present. We honor with gratitude the land itself and the Duwamish people. Echolopaper History The Echolopaper was started by five MES 5th graders during online learning in December 2020: Dexter Chinn, Sam Long, Ella Smits, Ella Wagar, and Eva Mirsky. To learn about the unique name Echolopaper, read Ella Smit's article on it. Have a question or an idea for us?
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