MEGAFAUNA SCULPTURES
23 Apr 2024
Megafauna sculptures of extinct animals took over the botanic gardens in Canberra, courtesy of Natureworks.
The aim was to help visitors better understand Australian native flora by taking them back to times when giant creatures co-existed with plants that still exist today.
The Megafauna events, literally large animals, showcased giant replicas of animals that became extinct thousands of years ago. It also explored the habitats they existed in, the changes in environment and compared palaeontology with Dreamtime stories.
The megafauna sculptures included:
- Phascolonus (wombat-like cretaures the size of hippos)
- Dromornis (flightless birds that weighed twice as much as modern emus
- Megalania (enormous goannas the size of a small dinosaur)
- plus many more!
In addition to the MEGAFauna: Once there were giants! and MEGAFauna: Myths & Legends events, the botanic gardens hosted MEGAFauna: After Dark events, during which First Nations storytellers told stories of the Gurulidj (Bunyip). The animal behind these tales could well be the Diprotodon Optatum, which is believed to be the largest marsupial that ever lived.
The Diprotodon is often depicted in Indigenous rock art, with stories telling that it lurked in billabongs, swamps and creeks before heading to the land at night to prowl for adults and children to eat! Luckily, the children who visited the display seemed more intriguied than scared of the Diprotodon sculpture, with no reports of visitors being eaten by hungry lizards!
Megalania, a giant lizard that roamed during the Pleistocene period, has also been seen in cave art. It grew to between 5 and 7 metres long and 600-1000 kilograms, and survived on snakes, reptiles and birds. Fossil deposits have been discovered, but no complete skeletons.
The display also featured a giant python, Wonambi Naracoortensis, names after the Rainbow Serpent from the Aboriginal Dreamtime.
Understanding where these giant animals lived, how they behaved and what they ate helps develops an appreciation for the role native flora has played. For millenia, plants and trees have been providing food, shelter and an ecosystem to support diverse lifeforms, from the smallest organism to enormous animals such as dinosaurs and other such creatures.
"Many of the plants that co-evolved and were eaten by the megafauna still exist and those plants only makes sense with megafauna to help tell their stories," explains Megan Donaldson of the Australian National Botanic Gardens.
Megafauna botanic sculptures such as those Natureworks created for the botanic gardens have an important role to play, educating people about biodiversity and the importance of preserving our natural heritage.
For more information, visit Natureworks