Koala

(go back to The Animals)

A rare animal, the Koala has no close relatives. Another unique feature of the Koala is in its diet, which consists almost entirely of eucalyptus leaves. This fact alone has caused endangerment to the Koala since eucalyptus trees are found naturally growing only in parts of Australia. Although there are more than 600 species of eucalyptus tree that grow in Australia, the koala feeds on only 40-50 varieties with about 10 different varieties being their favorites. A diet of mainly eucalyptus leaves that are low in nutrition, Koala’s have a very slow metabolic rate and will sleep 18 hours per day. A marsupial, Koala’s carry their young, for the first 6 months, in their pouch. The single baby koala (twins are rare) lives with its mother, clinging to its mother’s back during the day and remaining with her until the next mating season when it moves to another tree, living independently for two to four years until sexual maturity. The Koala’s nose is one of its most important features with a highly developed sense of smell. This is very necessary for Koalas so they can differentiate between the various leaves and determine which are poisonous. Koala’s communicate with one other by bellowing which signifies, for males, their social and physical position, mothers and babies make clicking, squeaking, humming, and murmuring sounds to one another, and all Koalas mark their trees with their scent. The largest threat to Koala’s is the loss of habitat and their precious food source, the eucalyptus tree, through land clearing for human settlement, agriculture, mining, and other human factors. Other threats are again, from humans, with injuries caused by traffic, attacks from unrestrained domestic animals, and garden pesticides polluting waterways all of which causes increased competition for food because of overcrowding and stress, making them susceptible to disease.

Koala - Fast Facts

Type: Mammal
Diet: Herbivore
Average lifespan in the wild: 10-15 years
Size: Adult 2.5 ft (.75 m)
Weight: 9 to 29 lbs (28 to 54 kg)
Group name: mob
Status: STABLE

Buy a Koala Eye Wildlife Collectible Pin and help save the Koala.

---