Interesting Facts About Koala Bear

Interesting Facts About Koala Bear

1. Koalas are marsupials, a subclass of mammals. They belong to a unique family called Phascolarctidae. They are different from any other living marsupial and are the only animal in this family. Their closest living relatives are wombats.

2. The early settlers referred to koalas as sloth's, monkeys, bears, and even monkey bears, adopting the unfortunate practice of transposing the names of animals which were already familiar to Europeans to Australian look-alikes. The virtual absence of a tail, together with their stocky build and their relatively long legs, gives the koalas a bear-like appearance, and undoubtedly led to their being referred to as, "koala bears", or, "native bears” 

3. Koalas are said to be very lazy, but when it comes to getting food, they can climb 150 feet to the top of an Eucalyptus tree and leap from one to another. These "pouched animals" are very quick tempered and very muscular.

4. They obtain their water through the eucalyptus leaves. Koalas are excellent swimmers.

5. They are nocturnal, spending their days lounged in a tree and their nights consuming up to 2.5 pounds of eucalyptus leaves. The koalas communicate by a "bellow."

6. Koalas have grey and white fur. Their feet are adapted for tree-climbing with thumbs on all four feet and sharp claws. Females have a backward-facing pouch.

7. Koalas are herbivores and only eat eucalypt leaves. Koalas are only found in areas with suitable eucalyptus leaves.

8. Most other animals (excluding a range of insects) avoid eucalypt leaves due to the toxic oils they contain. Koalas are able to break down the toxins using a specialised digestive system.

9. They have two opposable thumbs on their fore paws which gives them a better grip. This is essential for climbing tall trees.

10. They are basically solitary animals, living within a avoured area or home range normally less than 3 hectares in size.

11. They are mainly active at night, making loud grunts or squeals to communicate with one another and they spend most of the day sleeping or resting.

12. Each koala eats gum tips from 1,000 trees every year. Koalas are excellent swimmers and are able to cross rivers in order to escape floods or bushfires.

13. Koalas have soft, wool-like fur. This fur is mostly white on the tummy below the neck, and their ears have long white hairs on the tips.

14. Koalas are native to Australia. They do not live in rainforests or desert areas. 

15. Koalas live in tall eucalyptus forests and low eucalypt woodlands. Koalas eat  eucalyptus leaves and bark from 12 different species of eucalyptus trees. They also consume mistletoe and box leaves.

16. Koalas have two thumbs on their front paws. These to help them climb, hold onto the tree trunks and grip their food.

17. Koalas sleep for up to 16 hours a day. They are arboreal, which means that they live in trees.

18. Koalas are not bears! They are marsupials, which means that they carry their young in a pouch.

19. Koalas are nocturnal animals. This means that they sleep in the daytime, and move around and feed at night.

20. Koalas communicate with each other by making a noise like a snore and then a belch, known as a "bellow".

21. Koalas usually have only one cub per year. When koalas are born, they are only 2 centimeters long, which is about as big as a jellybean!  

22. At birth, koala joeys have no fur and their eyes and ears are still closed.  

23. The koala joey rides in it‘s mother‘s pouch for about 5 or 6 months, and drinks milk from its mother‘s teet.

24. At 6 months of age, a koala joey rides on its mother‘s back until it becomes independent.

25. Koalas do not live in big groups but rather prefer to be alone.

26. Koala babies are known by several names "pouch young", "back young", "joeys" and "cubs".

27. Koalas don‘t normally need to drink as they get all the liquid they need from the leaves they eat. However, they can drink if necessary, such as in times of drought.

28. The Koala is one of the few mammals (other than primates) that has fingerprints.

29. Koala has a very low metabolic rate for a mammal and rests motionless for about 18 to 20 hours a day, sleeping most of that time.

30. The Koala has an unusually small brain, with about 40% of the cranial cavity being filled with fluid. 

31. Males have a very loud advertising call that can be heard from almost a kilometre away 

32. The name koala is the Aboriginal name for “no water”.  The koala is not a bear.  It’s related to the wombat and the kangaroo.

33. The koala is found in coastal regions of eastern and southern Australia
The word ‘koala’ comes from a traditional Aboriginal word meaning ‘doesn’t drink’.

34. Koalas spend 90% of their time sitting in trees and only come down to the ground to move from tree to tree.

35. Mother koalas carry their young babies in pouches on their front (like the kangaroo).

36. Weight varies from about 14 kg for a large southern male, to about 5 kg for a small northern female.

37. First the Koala bear breeds in September through March. It will breed at three years old. Then thirty-five days later the female Koala bear will give birth. The baby Koala bear is called a joey. The joey is as big as three jellybeans and weighs less than a gram. Next the joey will get in the mother Koala bear’s pouch and will stay there for twenty-two weeks. It will drink the mother Koala bear’s milk. The joey is growing every day. Finally at three years old the life cycle will start all over again.