Australian Animals: Kangaroos, Koalas & Platypus

Nova: Buckle up, Explorers.

Cosmo: Brains in!

Nova: Wheels up!

Nova & Cosmo: Brain Bus, let's GO!

Nova: You're on The Brain Bus.

Nova: I'm Nova, your driver.

Nova: And we are going somewhere amazing today.

Nova: We're going all the way to Australia.

Nova: That's a very, very special place.

Nova: And here is something wild.

Nova: A baby kangaroo could fit on your thumb.

Nova: Just like a little jellybean with legs.

Nova: Let's go find out more.

Nova: Welcome to Australia, Explorers.

Nova: It is a big, beautiful place.

Nova: Very far away, across the ocean.

Nova: And the animals there are unlike anywhere else on Earth.

Nova: Let's meet them, one by one.

Nova: First - the kangaroo.

Nova: Kangaroos hop.

Nova: Big, bouncy, springy hops.

Nova: Their back legs are like trampolines.

Nova: Boing. Boing. Boing.

Nova: And they have a very long tail.

Nova: That tail is strong, like an extra leg.

Nova: Now - can you say KANGAROO?

Nova: Kan-ga-roo. Beautiful.

Nova: Here is the most amazing part.

Nova: When a baby kangaroo is born, it is tiny.

Nova: As tiny as a jellybean.

Nova: It has no fur yet.

Nova: Its eyes are closed.

Nova: But it is brave.

Nova: All by itself, it climbs up.

Nova: Up through the fur on mummy's tummy.

Nova: And it wriggles into mummy's pouch.

Nova: The pouch is like a cozy pocket.

Nova: Just like the pocket on the front of your jumper.

Nova: But warm. And soft. And safe inside.

Nova: The joey rides around in there.

Nova: While mummy hops and hops.

Nova: Now - Explorers - I want to tell you a story.

Nova: This story comes from the Aboriginal peoples of Australia.

Nova: Many, many different groups of Aboriginal people across Australia have shared this story.

Nova: It has been told for a very, very long time.

Nova: We are grateful to the storytellers who have shared it with us.

Nova: Long, long ago, a mother kangaroo was hopping through the bush.

Nova: She was carrying her little joey.

Nova: And she came across an old wombat.

Nova: He was tired. He was lost.

Nova: He didn't know which way to go.

Nova: The mother kangaroo stopped.

Nova: She helped him find his way.

Nova: She stayed with him, even though it was slow.

Nova: Even though her joey had to wait.

Nova: She was kind.

Nova: And a spirit being saw her kindness.

Nova: The spirit gave her a gift.

Nova: A soft pouch on her tummy.

Nova: So her joey could ride with her. Always. Safe.

Nova: And from that day on, all mother kangaroos have had a pouch.

Nova: Isn't that a beautiful story?

Nova: Now. Let's meet some more animals.

Nova: Here comes a very, very strange animal.

Nova: The platypus.

Nova: Can you say PLATYPUS?

Nova: Plat-y-pus. Well done.

Nova: The platypus has fur, like a puppy.

Nova: But it has a beak, like a duck.

Nova: And it lays eggs!

Nova: Most furry animals don't lay eggs.

Nova: But the platypus does.

Nova: It swims underwater with its eyes closed.

Nova: And it feels for food with its soft bill.

Nova: Like a little underwater explorer.

Nova: And now - the koala.

Nova: Koalas live in gum trees.

Nova: They hug the branches.

Nova: And they sleep.

Nova: A lot.

Nova: About twenty hours every single day.

Nova: That is a very, very long nap.

Nova: Can you say KOALA?

Nova: Ko-a-la. Lovely.

Nova: Koalas eat leaves from the gum tree.

Nova: Just gum leaves. Almost nothing else.

Nova: Gum leaves don't give koalas much energy.

Nova: So they save their energy by sleeping.

Nova: Smart koalas.

Nova: And one more animal before we play.

Nova: The kookaburra.

Nova: Did you hear that?

Nova: That's the kookaburra.

Nova: It sounds like laughing!

Nova: Kookaburras laugh together, like a family.

Nova: They're saying, "This is our tree!"

Nova: Time to play, Explorers.

Nova: I'm going to ask you some questions.

Nova: Listen carefully. Here we go.

Nova: Question one.

Nova: True or false - a baby kangaroo is as big as a puppy when it's born.

Nova: False!

Nova: A baby kangaroo is as tiny as a jellybean.

Nova: Tiny, tiny, tiny.

Nova: Question two.

Nova: What sound does a kookaburra make?

Nova: Is it - moo? Laughing? Or quack?

Nova: Laughing! Yes!

Nova: The kookaburra sounds just like a big, loud laugh.

Nova: Question three.

Nova: How many hours does a koala sleep every day?

Nova: Two hours? Ten hours? Or twenty hours?

Nova: Twenty hours!

Nova: That is a very big nap.

Nova: Even bigger than yours.

Nova: Well done, Explorers.

Nova: Every single one of you did something amazing just now.

Nova: You thought really hard.

Nova: And thinking hard is the very best thing.

Nova: Now for some really fun facts.

Nova: Ready?

Nova: Wombats make poop shaped like little cubes.

Nova: Little square poos. Cube-shaped. Only wombats do that.

Nova: Next one - kangaroos cannot walk backwards.

Nova: They can only go forward. Forward, forward, forward.

Nova: And last one - quokkas always look like they are smiling.

Nova: Big wide smile. All the time.

Nova: The smiliest animal in Australia.

Nova: Explorers, let's be kangaroos.

Nova: Sit nice and tall in your seat.

Nova: Now bounce your shoulders. Up and down.

Nova: Boing. Boing. Boing.

Nova: Like a kangaroo hopping.

Nova: Good. Now wiggle your fingers in front of your tummy.

Nova: Like a tiny joey peeking out of the pouch.

Nova: Peek-a-boo, little joey.

Nova: Now I have a wondering question.

Nova: If YOU had a pouch on your tummy...

Nova: What would you carry inside it?

Nova: What a wonderful thing to imagine.

Nova: Explorers. Listen.

Nova: Australian animals are special.

Nova: Lots of them carry their babies in a pocket on their tummy.

Nova: That pocket keeps the baby safe and warm.

Nova: Right next to their mum's heartbeat.

Nova: That tiny jellybean joey - smaller than your finger - has been making that same brave climb for millions and millions of years.

Nova: Long before there were roads, or cars, or any of us.

Nova: It has always known how to find its way home.

Nova: Next time, Explorers, the Brain Bus might go somewhere very, very deep.

Nova: A place where it is dark and quiet and full of mystery.

Nova: I wonder what we'll find down there.

Nova: Stay curious, stay clever, and keep that brain working!

Nova: Until the next stop, Explorers...

Cosmo: ...keep wondering.