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