When we get more rain we see Bunyjul, the frill-necked lizard, nearly every day. When he feels threatened he opens his frill to make himself appear bigger than he really is. He does this by opening his mouth very wide, and makes a hissing sound at the same time. You can see now why he's also called the frill-necked dragon, but despite his scary looks he's harmless and people even have them as pets.
We also see this beautiful hairy spider regularly as he lives in a burrow not far from the Birth Site. The circular part of his body is about the size of a 20 cent piece. In the picture on the right you can see the remains of his old skin after moulting. He's an Australian Tarantula, also known as a whistling or barking spider because of the noise he makes when he feels threatened. He's not usually aggressive, but if provoked will rear up and look menacing, and he does have a painful bite. Despite this there are a growing number of people who keep them as pets, and there are fears that this may be having a negative impact on their populations in North Queensland. We're happy just admiring him - from a distance!
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