Land Animals

Even though animals do not play a dominant part in Botanical Gardens they still exist in some way or another. There is a wide range of animals living both in the Marine environment were i have taken my water samples from. And there is a wide range of animals on land where i took my soil samples from. As i could not name all of this ones i just got a few species and thought that i could go into more depth about each animal instead of naming all the animals in the Botanical gardens.
The animals that are dominant on land are the following:

Flying foxes:
Flying-foxes are large bats, weighing up to 1 kg, with a wing span which may exceed one meter. They sleep during the day and feed on pollen, nectar and fruit at night. In the wild they are important pollinators and seed dispersers of native trees. Seeds are discarded in the feces or fall where the fruit is being eaten. These seeds germinate when conditions are suitable and ensure that dispersal occurs in a wide area.


Flying-foxes, otherwise known as fruit bats, are mammals, and are members of the Pteropodidae family. They have the largest body size of all bats. The Grey-headed Flying-fox is the largest member of the family. Most flying-foxes at the Royal Botanic Gardens are Grey-headed Flying-foxes (Pteropus poliocephalus), which are listed as vulnerable under both NSW and Commonwealth legislation. There is also a small number of Black Flying-foxes (Pteropus alecto), typically a more tropical species, which began roosting in the Royal Botanic Gardens around 2006.




Powerful owls:
The Powerful Owl is the largest owl in Australasia. It is a typical hawk-owl, with staring yellow eyes and no facial-disc. Adults reach 60 cm in length, have a wingspan of up to 140 cm and weigh up to 1.45 kilograms. Males are larger than females. The upper parts of the Powerful Owl are dark, greyish-brown with indistinct off-white bars. The underparts are whitish with dark greyish-brown V-shaped markings. Juvenile Powerful Owls have a white crown and underparts that contrasts with its small, dark streaks and dark eye patches. The call of this species may be heard at any time of the year, but it is more vocal during the winter breeding season. It has a slow, deep and resonant double hoot, with the female's being higher pitched and expressing an upward inflection on the second note.



Buff banded rail:

The Buff-banded Rail is a medium-sized stout rail with short legs. It has a distinctive grey eyebrow and an orange-brown band on its streaked breast. The lores, cheek and hindneck are rich chestnut. The chin and throat are grey, the upper parts streaked brown and the underparts barred black and white. The eye is red. Young birds are much paler to white underneath, with indistinct bars and only a faint orange-brown tint on the breast. Downy chicks are fluffy black. This rail walks slowly, with tail raised and flicking constantly.


These animals are the most dominant in Botanical Gardens so therefore they are more in depth.
But the other land animals that are not as dominant are rats, cockroaches, frogs, worms, butterfly, mossies, cranes, ibis, seagulls, pelicans, cockatoos, ants, magpies,

Birds

Since 1991 about 100 species of birds have been observed in the Royal Botanic Gardens. Click here to find out about the history of bird observations at the Royal Botanic Gardens.

Mammals:

Mammals include Grey-headed Flying-foxes, possums (Ringtail and Brush-tailed), rats and the occasional feral cat. You will encounter flying foxes rootsting during the day, but most other mammals can only be seen at night.

Whilst we are fond of our resident populations of possums, unfortunately many are possums that have been caught in other parts of the city and ‘dumped’ here. Our land covers only a limited area and cannot support an over-population of possums, so these animals - already disoriented from being removed from their ‘home’ territories - become even more stressed.

Frogs, lizards, snakes and spiders

You may encounter some of these animals in the Royal Botanic Gardens and in the Domain. Please be aware that all reptiles are protected by law. Many of our native reptiles have poisonous bites. Do not attempt to handle them. If you think you have been bitten, seek help immediately - contact a Ranger (0419 270 279) or go to the Gardens Shop for first aid.

Insects

The sole colony of Pearl White Butterflies (Elodina angulipennis) in the Sydney Basin is living in our Rare & Threatened Garden. The butterflies are living on two Native Pomegranate trees (Capparis arborea). Pearl White Butterflies are found from the Torres Strait Islands and Cape York Peninsula, south as far as Sydney, but they are most common in the northernmost part of their range.

With all these animals Botanical gardens must a policy in order to protect them. A policy is shown below.

Wildlife The Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain provide valuable ‘greenspace’ in the centre of the city. Visitors enjoy observing our birds and many come just to see our colony of flying-foxes. You can also expect outdoor evening events to be accompanied by the occasional sounds of possums jumping through the trees. If you care for our wildlife, please don’t feed them Many of us love feeding ducks, other birds, and possums, but there are some good reasons why you shouldn’t. It upsets the delicate balance of nature and jeopardises the animals’ welfare.

Handfeeding makes them aggressive and a nuisance. Feeding makes them lazy. Animals start to depend on being fed by humans. They become scavengers instead of unique wildlife that we can be proud of. Human food can kill animals. Our snack food often contains too much salt and sugar, and can be fatal to birds. Poor nutrition can lead to bone deformities, reduced ability to cope with cold weather and susceptibility to disease.