Be the first to look after this cute marsupial trio!

Koala, Echidna and Wombat snuggle together in a soft and fluffy pouch, waiting for someone to play with.

Animal: Koala

Nickname: Joey Junior

Characteristics:

Koalas look like teddy bears and are sometimes even referred to as koala bears, but they are not bears they are marsupials, a special kind of animal which carries its young in a pouch. The baby will stay inside the pouch for the first few months of its life feeding on milk. When the baby koala gets too big for the pouch, it clings to the mothers back instead. Hang on joey! 

Height & Weight:

Koalas are rather small, round animals. They weigh about 30 pounds and on average grow to be 2 feet tall. How tall are you?

Where they live:

Koalas are at home in the gum tress found in the forests of eastern Australia. Koalas live in the bush with other koalas. Each koala has its own home tree which no other koalas visit unless it is mating season. The koalas sleep for about 18 hours a day in the fork of the gum tree.

What they eat:

Eucalyptus leaves, eucalyptus leaves and more eucalyptus leaves . Koalas smell like cough drops because of their diet of eucalyptus leaves.  Although koalas obtain most of their water from leaves - the name koala means “no drink” in several native Aboriginal tongues - they do occasionally drink water at the edges of streams.

Animal: Wombat

Nickname: Bully

Characteristics:

Wombats look a bit like a little bear. Wombats have a large, blunt head with small eyes and ears, and a short, muscular neck. Their sharp claws and stubby, powerful legs make them great diggers. They can out dig a man with a shovel. Wombats live in their burrows. The burrows make great hidey-holes and protect the wombat from other animals, bad weather and even bushfires. Female wombat pouches open backwards, so their babies can peek out while they're digging, without getting a face full of dirt.

Height & Weight:

They grow to about 1.3 metres in length, and can weigh up to 36 kg.

Where they live:

They are found in forested, mountainous, and heathland areas of south-eastern Australia and Tasmania.

What they eat:

Wombats are herbivores (almost vegetarian), their diet consisting mostly of grasses, sedges, herbs, bark and roots.

Wombats are nocturnal (they sleep in their burrows during the day). Wombats spend between three and eight hours each night grazing on their favourite food, which is native grasses such as the tussocky 'snow grass', wallaby grass and kangaroo grass. A wombat may wander up to 3 km a night looking for food.

Animal: Echidna (which is also called a Spiny Anteater)

Nickname: Spiky

Characteristics:

Echidnas are sometimes called a 'Pin-cushion on legs'. On its back, sides and tail the echidna is covered with strong pointed spines. In between the spines is coarse hair. Its tummy is covered with soft hair. The long pointy spines are its only form of protection. When the echidna gets scared of other animals it can roll into a ball of spines and no other animal wants spines for lunch.

Height & Weight:

Adult echidnas vary in size, from 35 to 53 cm. Males weigh about 6 kilograms, while females weigh about 4.5 kilograms.

Where they live:

Echidnas only live in Australia, they are usually found among rocks, in hollow logs and in holes among tree roots. During rainy or windy weather they often burrow into the soil or shelter under bushes and tussocks of grass.

What they eat:

With a keen sense of smell, an echidna uses its long, hairless snout to search for food. Termites and ants are their favourite food. After finding food, an echidna catches the prey with its long, sticky tongue. Because it has no teeth, it grinds its food between its tongue and the bottom of its mouth.