 |
| Home >> Australia Wildlife Attractions >> Koala |
|
Koala
|
|
|
Australia's most loved and most popular marsupial mammal, Koala is the native 'bear' of the continent. The word koala is an Aboriginal word meaning "no water". This refers to the koala's ability to obtain most of its moisture requirements from gum leaves. One may think a Koala as a bear, but it isn't. In fact the Koala has no relation to a bear. It is a distant cousin to the Wombat and both the Koala and the Wombat have fossil history over 15 million years. The koala has a large head, hairy ears fringed with white, and a large nose. It has dense, woolly, greyish white fur and grows up to 84 cm length, and 14 kg in weight. Koalas are solitary creatures and live in small harems led by a single male. They are also selective eaters of eucalyptus leaves and young bark.
|
| Koala's sharp, strong, curved claws; long toes and strong grip enables them to spend most of their time asleep in a fork of a eucalyptus tree and also turns them into skillful climbers. At night they move about and feed, most of their activity takes place just after sunset. A koala is probably one of the most docile and cuddly animals on earth. The young ones are born after a gestation period of 25 to 30 days and weigh about 5.5 g at the time of birth and remain in the pouch for the first six months. A typical koala spends about 20 per cent of its time feeding, nearly 80 per cent sleeping, and less than one per cent grooming, traveling and seeking mates. | |
|
|
