![]() These deaf, blind, and furless babies rely on their well-developed senses of smell, touch, and an inborn sense of direction to feel their way to the pouch, where they attach themselves to a teat. Joeys are very attached to their mamasĪs marsupials, their babies (joeys) are born very premature and continue to develop in their mother’s sack. Climate change, deforestation, and other human activities have pushed koalas closer together, causing them a great deal of stress.ĩ. Each koala has a different sized range, depending on sex, age, social position, and habitat quality, but mature males have scent glands in the center of their chests, which exude a dark, sticky substance that they rub on trees to mark their territory. Koalas Are lonersĪs solitary creatures, koalas stick to their home ranges and generally respect the boundaries of others. Fortunately, they have strong cartilage at the end of their curved spine, which allows them to live comfortably in their arboreal homes. Koalas have some extra junk in the trunkĪs you might imagine, spending all that time in trees would make for a pretty sore tush. every night! Think about how you feel after eating a heavy meal, and you’ll understand why they sleep 18-20 hours a day! 7. In fact, an adult Koala eats about 1/2-1 kilogram of leaves…. And while they have an unusually long (200 cms) caecum to help them digest and break down fiber, they’re only able to absorb about 25% of what they consume-which is why they have to eat so much. Their main source of food, eucalyptus, is toxic, fibrous, and not very nutritious. And even then, they will climb to the very top of the tallest trees to get the best leaves, which contain more liquid and nutrients. In fact, individual koalas usually have 1-3 specific eucalyptus species that they will eat regularly, reserving others for the occasional snack or resting spot. Koalas Are picky eatersĪlthough there are around 700 species of eucalyptus trees, koalas tend to only eat from 50 of those. ![]() While mature males tend to have a stronger, muskier odor, females and juvenile males give off a slight eucalyptus smell- which doubles as a natural insect repellent! 5. They can and do drink from creeks and water holes if necessary, but if you see a koala drinking, it’s probably in distress. And in fact, Koalas don’t need to drink much waterh because they get a lot of water from their dietary staple, eucalyptus leaves. Their name is thought to mean “no drink” and was coined by Aboriginal people (who have coexisted with them for thousands of years). ![]() They also have unique patterns on their noses, which helps wildlife biologists to identify and track them. In fact, they’re the only animals other than primates that have them-and just like us, each one is an individual. Anyone is welcome to join, and is encouraged to pin a gum leaf (or any other leaf if you don't have access to eucalyptus) to their shirt, change their profile photo to a koala, and/or share a koala photo on social media, tagged #wildkoaladay. ![]() Observed every year on May 3rd, Wild Koala Day was established by concerned koala conservationists across Australia to celebrate this species and to protect their habitats. Their scientific name is "Phascolarctoscinereus”, where a Greek word "phaskolos" means "pouch", arktos means "bear" and the Latin word "cinereus" means "ash-colored".11 KOALA Fun facts 1.The mother and her young are in very close bonds the female is happy to carry the joey with her everywhere, until the baby grows old, becoming independent.Newborn babies of this species are hairless, blind, and as small as a broad bean.Not only koalas are excellent climbers, but they are also good swimmers, known to cross rivers, escaping from heavy flooding in their home range.They consume 12 species of eucalyptus tree out of more than 100 species, found throughout Australia. Koalas feed upon leaves only during a certain stage of growth.They also tend to use their cheek pouches as stocks, where they store snacks of leaves. A koala consumes about 1 kilogram of leaves per day on average, which is a huge amount for the body size of the animal.However, when the temperatures increase, koalas sometimes lose a large amount of water, becoming dehydrated. The animals are so called because they rarely drink water and attain the required moisture from eucalyptus leaves. Their name, "koala", comes from the Aborigine language and means "no water".This, combined with their nutrient-poor diet, is the reason for koalas' sedentary lifestyle. The brain of the koala is less than 0.2% out of the animal's body weight.Koalas spend most of the day (up to 18 hours) sleeping.
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