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Koala is not a bear. It is a marsupial herbivore, native to Australia |
Koala Facts |
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- Koalas are not bears. They are marsupialas, which means that they carry their young in a pouch.
- The word 'marsupial' comes from the Latin word marsupium, meaning pouch.
- Koalas are nocturnal animals. This means that they sleep in the daytime, and move around and feed at night.
- Koalas have two thumbs on their front paws - to help them climb, to hold onto the tree and to grip their food.
- Koalas have a thick woolly fur which protects them from both high and low temperatures.
- Koalas' fur is different in different parts of Australia. In the southern parts of Australia it is thicker than in the north.
- Koalas today are found in Queensland , New South Wales , Victoria and South Australia.
- Koalas communicate with each other by making a noise like a snore and then a belch, known as a "bellow"
- The male koala has a dark scent gland in the center of his chest. He rubs this on the tree in order to mark his territory.
- Koalas usually have only one cub per year. Older females will usually have one every two years.
- Koala babies are known by several names - "pouch young", "back young", "joeys" and "cubs".
- When koalas are born, they are only 2 centimetres long, which is about as big as a jellybean!
- At birth, koala joeys have no fur and their eyes and ears are still closed.
- The koala joey rides in it's mother's backward-facing pouch for about 5 or 6 months, and drinks milk from its mother.
- Later it rides on its mother's back until it leaves her at about 1 year old.
- Koalas are fully grown by their third or fourth year.
- Koalas do not live in rainforests or desert areas. They live in tall eucalypt ( gumtree ) forests and low eucalypt woodlands.
- There are about 600 varieties of eucalypts. Koalas in a specific area would prefer to eat only about 4-6 different types.
- An adult koala eats about 1/2 - 1 kilogram of leaves each night.
- Koalas don't normally need to drink as they get all the moisture they need from the gumleaves.
- A forest can only have a certain number of koalas living in it, otherwise they get hungry and sick.
- The biggest problem for koalas is that the bushland they live in is being cut down to make way for houses.
- Eucalypts ( gumtrees) are both food and homes for the koalas.
- Koalas are protected by law, but their homes and food are not.
- Cars, pythons and dogs kill many koalas each year.
- Only around 50,000 koalas remain in Australia. Number of koalas declines since most of their habitat disappears.
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