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Koala Gifts

The koala is broadly similar in appearance to the wombat (its closest living relative), but has a thicker coat, much larger ears, and longer limbs. The koala has large, sharp claws to assist with climbing tree trunks. Weight varies from about 14 kg for a large southern male, to about 5 kg for a small northern female. The koala's five fingers are arranged with opposable thumbs, providing better gripping ability. The first two fingers are positioned in apposition on the front paws, and the first three fingers for the hind paws.

The koala is one of the few mammals (other than primates) that has fingerprints. Koala fingerprints are similar to human fingerprints; even with an electron microscope, it can be quite difficult to distinguish between the two. A Koala Skeleton The teeth of the koala are adapted to their herbivorous diet, and are similar to those of other diprotodont marsupials, such as kangaroos and wombats.


Overview of the Koala

Overview of the Koala

Although the koala is colloquially referred to as the “koala bear”, the koala is actually a marsupial, like a kangaroo. The koala was first called the “koala bear” by English-speaking settlers from the late 18th century, due to the koala’s resemblance of a bear. Because a koala is a marsupial, their young are roughly the size of bees when they are born. Their young then grow inside a pouch on their mother’s belly.

Koalas are native to Australia. They spend much of their time in trees; they sleep, breed and eat in the branches of eucalyptus (gum) trees. Koalas only climb down when moving to a new tree. They are exceptional climbers, and climb trees with a series of jumps. They use their strong arms, large hands and big claws to hold on tightly. Koalas also have two opposable thumbs per hand.

To avoid tiring itself out, the koala moves very slowly and sleeps for 19 hours a day. They spend about three of their five waking hours simply eating. Their diet is almost entirely eucalyptus leaves; they can eat up to 2 pounds of eucalyptus leaves a day. Koalas use their cheek pouches to store the eucalyptus leaves, and when the pouches are full, they grind them with their flat teeth. The weight of a koala can vary from 31 pounds to 11 pounds.

Some estimates of the koala population put their numbers in the hundreds of thousands, although others have estimated as few as 80,000 koalas left in the wild. The koala is considered to be a species of “Least Concern” - they aren’t currently in danger of becoming extinct.

About the Author
Jacob Maddox manages content for Wildlife Animals http://www.wildlife-animals.com an educational wildlife and animal website. Jacob also guest writes for Dog Pound http://www.dog-pound.net

Koala Gifts

 

 

 
 
 
 
 


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