Koala - Phascolarctos cinereus

Everyone knows a little about, or has at least seen a picture of, a koala bear. Although, it is not actually a part of the bear family, it is no less adorable. It's soft fluffy grey fur, big eyes, and cute face makes it a lovable creature to most people. So, as you may have guessed the first animal I will cover is the Koala.

This cuddly looking animal is a marsupial native to Australia and feeds almost exclusively on Eucalyptus leaves. They can eat up to half a kilogram of leaves every day! They spend most of their lives in the trees, and are actually very agile and quick once they get moving. They used to have a fairly large range of habitats, however after being pushed out of most of the South and limited to the Eastern half of Australia, their numbers (and range) have been significantly lowered.

Koala Range

Unlike most other animals, the Koala is immune to the poison in the leaves of the Eucalyptus tree. As babies (joeys), koalas are safe inside the mother's pouch, and nurses on her milk there. The milk contains small amounts of the poison from the leaves and this is where its immunity starts to build. They rely solely on the mother's milk for roughly 5-7 months to grow and develop fully before venturing out of the pouch. (When they are first born they weigh about 0.5 grams and are only about as big as a jellybean).

Newborn joey, right before going into pouch.

After this stage the joey is able to start venturing out of the pouch. For a period of 2 months it feeds on a special substances created inside the mother called "pap." It is excreted by her, then ingested by the joey. It contains enzymes necessary to break down the leaves and keep it immune to the toxins. After this stage the young joey is able to eat the leaves itself, but remains with its mother (riding on her back) until the next breeding period.

 

 Their growth period is 2 years for females, but 3-4 years for males before they reach maturity. Once full grown they have gone from a 2 cm long baby that weighs about 0.5 g, to an adult that ranges in size depending on what type of koala it is. Northern breeds are smaller than their southern counterparts. The northern female weighs roughly 16 lbs and is 72 cm long. And the Northern male averages a weight of 20 lbs and is about 74 cm long. While the Southern females are about 73 cm long and weigh 24 lbs; the southern males get to be about 82 cm long and weigh 33 lbs.

 

 Fun Facts:

• Koalas spend most of their days sleeping (up to 18 hours each day), this is why they are thought to be slow lazy animals.
• The Koala is not a bear, contrary to popular belief. It was given the name Koala "bear" by the English speaking settlers because it had a strong resemblance to other bears. However, the genus Phascolarctos means "pouch bear" in Latin.
• If the koala eats enough eucalyptus leaves it does not need to drink any water since the plant is 50% water. Therefore, most of this little animal's water consumption is from its food supply.
• The koalas closest relative is a wombat. 
• The color of a koala is naturally grey, but they can be white. The white koalas are very rare, they are called albino.

** This post was made for my friend Esther. Hope you love it!