The Disappearing Mammals of Australia
In The Disappearing Mammals of Australia, narrator Sir David Attenborough discusses animal images carved on stone by prehistoric humans. Then Europeans arrived and decimated the unique wildlife of Australia. The future of wildlife now depends on human intervention. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Seven Worlds, One Planet, a series featuring remarkable animal behavior from all seven continents.
Sir David Attenborough showcases the wonders of our planet's seven continents — from frozen tundras to dense jungles — where life always finds a way.
Lesson Express
Q: How do we know Tasmanian devils once lived across Australia?
A: There are pictures of them engraved on a stretch of boulders on the northern coast of Australia far from where they currently reside.
Q: Which animal engraved on the stone is now extinct?
A: The thylacine, a marsupial wolf, died in a zoo in 1936 and was the last of its kind.
Q: What’s happening to mammals in Australia?
A: They are disappearing faster than anywhere else on Earth.
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