These animals, often called potoroos, are quite small, even the largest of them being scarcely as big as a rabbit. They do not jump so well as the true kangaroos, and generally run on all fours in a kind of gallop. But when they are at rest they sit upright on their hind quarters.
One of these animals, known as the brush-tailed bettong, puts its tail to a most curious use. It makes its nest of grasses and leaves in a hollow in the ground, and when it is collecting materials for building, it gathers them up into a bundle, twists the tip of its tail round them, and then hops swiftly away, holding its little sheaf well away from its body. It is a most clever little builder, for when it has chosen a suitable hollow in the ground for its nest, it first of all enlarges it until it is big enough for its requirements, and then weaves its materials carefully together until the top of its little home is just on a level with the herbage growing all round it. And whenever it goes in or out, it pulls a tuft of grass over the entrance in order to prevent it from being noticed. So well is the nest concealed, that you might pass within a few feet and look straight at it without seeing it.
This animal is also sometimes known as the jerboa-kangaroo.
The Sugar-Squirrel
Among the Australian mammals we find a good many which are really very much like those found in other parts of the world, and might easily be mistaken for them if it were not for the presence of the marsupial pouch. One of these is the curious sugar-squirrel, or squirrel-petaurist, which is really very much like the flying squirrels of Asia and North America. It has the skin of the sides and flanks developed in just the same manner, and uses it in exactly the same way, leaping from a lofty bough, spreading its limbs at right angles to its body so that the skin is stretched out between them, and thus contriving to skim for long distances through the air. And the big, bushy tail serves partly to help it in keeping its balance, and partly to enable it to keep a straight course.
During the daytime sugar-squirrels are nearly always asleep in a hollow tree, or in some other convenient retreat. But as soon as it grows dark they all come out from their hiding-places and begin to frisk about, and to leap from tree to tree, with the utmost activity. After a time they will stop, in order to search for insects, or to feast upon the honey which they find in the blossoms of the trees. But very shortly they recommence their gambols, and so they go on, alternately playing and feeding, till the dawn.
The sugar-squirrel is a very pretty little creature, the fur being brownish gray above, with a black stripe along the back, and a rich brown edging to the umbrella-like skin of the sides. The lower parts of the body are nearly white, and the tail is brown above and white beneath. In length it is about nineteen or twenty inches, rather more than half of which is occupied by the tail.
Australian Bear
There is an animal, much like a small bear, that is often known as the Australian bear, although its proper name is the koala. When fully grown it is about as big as a poodle. It has a stoutly built body, very short legs, large and almost square ears, with a fringe of stiff hairs round the edges, and no visible tail, while the fur is very thick and woolly. In color it is ashy gray above and yellowish white under the body.
The koala spends most of its life in the trees. Yet it is not a very good climber, for its movements are curiously slow, and it always seems to feel in danger of falling. On the ground it is slower and more awkward still, for its feet are much more suited for grasping a branch than for use upon a level surface. But it does not often come down from the trees unless it wishes to drink, or to vary its diet of leaves and buds by digging for roots.