Wild down under - Neil Nightingale

Australia is like no other place on earth. Isolated from the rest of world for a staggering 45 million years, this enormous island contains a breathtaking array of distinctive and bizarre species - 90 per cent of its reptiles and 70 per cent of its birds are unique to Australia and where else can you find wombats and wallabies, kookaburras and koalas? There are mammals that can lay eggs, huge birds that can't fly, marsupials that can, and a greater concentration of deadly reptiles and venomous snakes than anywhere else. The landscape, too, looks remarkably different: this is the flattest and driest inhabited continent on earth, with some of the oldest rocks and dramatic, time-worn landscapes. The surrounding seas contain dazzlingly colourful reefs and are dotted with a fabulous string of islands, stretching from the equator to the sub-Antarctic to form the larger region known as Australasia.;"Wild Down Under" reveals how this ancient land of contrasts was created and explores its unique landscapes and wildlife, and the impact of human settlement. Published to accompany a six-part television programme, this illustrated book, with over 200 full-colour photographs, celebrates the natural history of this spectacular continent.