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Glite Dictionary
Australian wildlife

Australian wildlife

1 3.0
Animals native to Australia like kangaroos and koalas
  • noun
translation icon : fauna australiana
  • The Australian wildlife, including kangaroos and koalas, attracts many tourists each year.

Examples

  • As recently as the 1960s, a textbook for kids in Australia, A Treasury of Fauna of Australia, included the Aborigines among the interesting examples of Australian wildlife.

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  • It's the Australian bushland at its most natural, teaming with Australian wildlife, and is framed by surely some of the most stunning beaches in the country.

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  • Conservation efforts are essential to protect the unique Australian wildlife from extinction.

  • The documentaries about Australian wildlife showcase its diversity in mammals, birds, and reptiles.

Surface Forms

Australian wildlife singular
Australian wildlifes plural

Morphology

Australian + wildlife

The meaning is directly compositional: 'Australian' specifies origin/association with Australia and 'wildlife' denotes non-domesticated animals, so together they denote animals native to Australia. This is a straightforward adjective + noun construction that is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily understand the MWE.

Etymology

Australian wildlife uses Australian + wildlife to mean the 'wild animals' that live in Australia. Think of kangaroos, koalas and other creatures many people go to Australia to see; that's why the phrase means animals native to Australia.