Victoria is home to 139 mammal species. This includes some of our most iconic and internationally renowned species, such as kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, possums, wombats, platypus and echidnas.

Fact sheets and other reports about some of Victoria's mammals:

Chocolate wattled bat (DOCX, 279.3 KB)
Chocolate wattled bat (PDF, 288.1 KB)

Common brushtail possum (DOCX, 389.3 KB)
Common brushtail possum (PDF, 377.9 KB)

Common ringtail possum (DOCX, 376.5 KB)
Common ringtail possum (PDF, 321.4 KB)

Common wombat (DOCX, 519.9 KB)
Common wombat (PDF, 1.9 MB)

Modelling abundance of the Common Wombat in Victoria (DOCX, 11.0 MB)
Modelling abundance of the Common Wombat in Victoria (PDF, 10.7 MB)

Eastern grey kangaroo (DOCX, 423.2 KB)
Eastern grey kangaroo (PDF, 352.5 KB)

Echidna (DOCX, 332.9 KB)
Echidna (PDF, 309.7 KB)

Koala (DOCX, 421.3 KB)
Koala (PDF, 358.8 KB)

Platypus (DOCX, 230.9 KB)
Platypus (PDF, 211.1 KB)

About mammals

Mammals are generally characterised by hair or fur on their bodies and almost all suckle their young on milk. Milk provides a rich source of fat and proteins to help young mammals grow.

Most mammals also give birth to live young, although monotremes like the platypus and echidna, lay eggs.

Most mammals live solely on land, but some live in our seas such as dolphins, seals and whales. Others live in our rivers and creeks, like the platypus. There are even mammals that have learnt to fly, like bats, and others, aptly named gliders, that glide through tree tops.

Did you know?

  • Some kangaroos can hop at speeds of up to 65 kilometres per hour and bound up to 6 meters in one hop.
  • Wombats can dig burrows up to 30 meters long.
  • The duck-like bill of the platypus is flexible and soft and helps it to search for food by picking up electrical currents from its prey.
  • The heart of a blue whale is about the size of a small car.
  • A feather tail glider can glide up to 25 meters in one leap.
  • Baby echidnas and platypuses are called puggles and each spine on an echidna's coat is formed from a single hair.
  • Koalas spend up to 20 hours a day sleeping and resting as their eucalyptus leaf diet is not very nutritious, so this is how they conserve energy.

Page last updated: 25/03/20