An anonymous photographer recorded the first European-koala encounter in 1798.The koala bears will also hug trees to cool down on extremely hot days.The first albino koala was born in 1985 at the San Diego zoo. Australian laws prevent koalas from being kept as pets.You can hear the koalas bellow from s far as 800 meters away.Initially, indigenous Australians hunted koalas.Read on to learn more facts about these pouched mammals. If you find koalas interesting, well, there’s more to find out about these magnificent animals. Pap is a sticky, runny fecal substance that provides the young koala with the bacteria needed to eat the leaves when they become adults. Instead, their mother passes it down to them by excreting pap that the joey eats. The toxins are isolated by the liver and excreted in the form of urine and feces.īreakdown of the remaining food takes place in a long coiled sac that branches out from the large intestine called the caecum in the presence of specialized bacteria. Using their hard molars, koalas effectively grind down the leaves into a paste, allowing easy absorption by the stomach. They will typically feed on leaves that contain the least amount of toxins. Koalas possess the ability to break the toxins using their specialized digestive systems. Koala bears hardly ever drink water because eucalyptus leaves contain a sufficient amount of water to sustain them.Įucalyptus leaves contain numerous toxic substances similar to that of cyanide, which many animals can’t eat. Female koalas will eat more leaves when lactating. They typically consume about 500 grams of food in a day, the same as eating small lettuce. Koalas eat and sleep on the same tree for about a day before moving on to another tree. Furthermore, koalas have small pouches in their cheeks to store food before it is ready to be chewed. Like cows, koalas sometimes regurgitate (to bring swallowed food back to the mouth) food in their mouths for further chewing. This adaptation, in turn, results in efficient stomach digestion and absorption of nutrients in the small intestines. Middle-aged koalas use their slightly worn-out premolars for breaking and crushing leaves into small pieces. They use their incisors for grasping leaves and molars and premolars to chew and grind their food. Koalas, when eating, use their hind paws and one fore-paw to hold their food. Koalas can additionally feed on the flowers, bark, stems, and buds of the eucalyptus tree. They do so due to the high protein content found in these selected species. Out of the 600 species of eucalyptus, koalas only feed on the leaves of 30 species. Did you know they primarily feed on the leaves of the eucalyptus trees? Koalas are strict herbivores and therefore only feed on plant matter. Their lifespan under the care of trained individuals is 16 to 20 years. Koalas can live for 12 to 14 years in the wild, whereas in captivity, they live longer. Joeys are weaned off their mother’s milk after a year. Joeys will remain in their mother’s pouches for the first 6 to 7 months of their lives. Koalas, like other marsupials, give birth to underdeveloped young ones that have to crawl to their pouches. Female koalas also communicate using bellows but in lower tones. Adult males use bellows to intimidate rivals and attract females. Koalas communicate by making noises known as bellows. They also establish their territories close to females. Male koalas mark the areas they rule with secretions from their scent glands found on their chests. Bonding is commonly seen mainly between mothers and their offspring (joeys). Koala bears are asocial animals meaning they don’t bond much with each other and other animals. They can be further told apart from females by the presence of their large noses and scent glands on their chests, revealed by hairless patches. Male koala bears are distinctively larger than their female counterparts, with males being 50% larger than females. They also possess strong thigh muscles that further help them climb effectively. Koalas climb trees to reach food due using their sharp claws. Their large ears help them hear well, and both male and female koalas can identify mates from a distance. The average koala stands at 60-85 centimeters tall and weighs between 4-25 kilograms. You can easily recognize koalas by their stout, tailless bodies, round heads, fluffy ears, and spoon-faced noses. Koalas mainly inhabit eucalyptus forests in Queensland, South Wales, Victoria, and Southern Australia. Other examples include kangaroos and wombats. Marsupials have pouches on their bellies and give birth to underdeveloped babies. Koalas ( Phascolarctos cinereus) or koala bears are sometimes known as herbivorous marsupials native to Australia.
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