Koala

Cuddly koalas

Have you ever heard someone refer to a koala as a "koala bear?" Well, like bears, koalas are mammals, and they have round, fuzzy ears and look cute and cuddly, like a teddy bear. But koalas are not bears. They are members of a group of pouched animals called marsupials. Marsupials include kangaroos, wallabies, wallaroos, wombats, possums, and opossums. Koalas look soft, but their fur feels like the coarse wool of a sheep. They also seem cuddly, but koalas are wild animals and don't make good pets.

HideWhy trees?

Koalas are native to southeastern and eastern Australia, living in forests of eucalyptus trees. They are basically sedentary animals that need to sleep a lot to give them time to digest their food. Being on the ground all the time would be a disadvantage, because predators could catch them easily. Instead, they adapted to live way up in eucalyptus trees, rear end firmly planted in the fork of branches, so they can chew leaves and nap all they want to without feeling threatened.

Eucalyptus forests are home, shelter, and food for koalas. The animals are built to live in the crooks of branches: koalas have a reduced tail, a curved spine, and a rounded rear end. But they do travel on the ground when necessary, to get from tree to tree or to a new area. On hot days, koalas select the coolest trees and the coolest locations in those trees (against the trunk and other low, shaded branches) for resting. On cooler days, koalas are more likely to rest farther away from the trunk where they can absorb heat from the sun.

Koalas have few natural predators, although sometimes a dingo or large owl can take one. The most common direct causes of koala deaths are from motor vehicles and dogs. Koalas are definitely safest high up in trees.

SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION

Class: 

Mammalia (Mammals)

Order: 

Diprotodontia

Family: 

Phascolarctidae

Genus: 

Phascolarctos

Species: 

cinereus

Subspecies: 

adustus (northern or Queensland koala)

Subspecies: 

victor (southern koala)

QUICK FACTS

Life span: 

Usually 10 to 15 years

Gestation: 

About 34 days

Number of young at birth: 

Usually 1

Age of maturity: 

2 to 3 years

Size: 

2 to 3 feet (60 to 85 centimeters) tall

Weight: 

Northern koala - 9 to 19 pounds (4 to 8.5 kilograms); southern koala - 15 to 29 pounds (7 to 13 kilograms); males weigh about 50 percent more than females.

Size at birth: 

.015 to .035 ounces (0.4 to 1 gram)