Despite being called bears, Koalas are marsupials who have six opposable 'thumbs' and downward facing pouches and are actually more closely related to Kangaroos than bears. These fuzzy mammals are listed as one of the 10 animals most effected by Climate Change.
Habitat
Koala's live on the east coast of Australia in large Eucalyptus bush areas. Adult males need a lot of space, about 100 trees.
Description
Koala's have large round heads with big furry ears and a big black nose. They have grey-brown fur with white fur on their chests, inner arms, ears and bottoms. With poor vision, koala's rely on this good sense of smell and excellent sense of hearing.
Koala's weigh about 9.07kg and can measure between 59.69cm to 85.09cm in length.
Diet
Koalas are well known for eating Eucalyptus leaves. They also will feed off other related trees, such as the Brush box tree, the Paper Bark tree and the Bloodwood tree. Koalas will eat up to 1kg of leaves a day. Because of the moisture that is found in leaves, koalas don't usually need to drink, unless there is a drought.
Threats
Koala's have many threats, both natural and not natural. Natural threats are animals that eat Koala like dingos, owls and dogs. Habitat loss though land clearing, logging and bushfires have great reduced Koala numbers. The 2019/20 summer especially took a huge toll on Koala numbers as many were killed in the large forest fires that raged across large parts of Australia. Other threats caused by humans include roadkill and poaching for their fur.
How to help?
Organisations like Australia Zoo and other wildlife hospitals and and zoos are doing their best to help Koala's. Injured Koala are taken to wildlife hospitals were they are looked after and then released again if possible. Conservation efforts are being run to buy land where Koala could live and public awareness campaigns are also being run, particularly by Australia Zoo.
References
National Geographic - www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/koala?loggedin=true
Australian Koala Foundation - www.savethekoala.com/about-koalas/interesting-facts/
Department of Environment and Science - environment.des.qld.gov.au/wildlife/animals/living-with/koalas/facts
World Wildlife Fund - www.wwf.org.au/news/blogs/10-interesting-facts-about-koalas
ICUN Red List - www.iucnredlist.org/species/16892/166496779
Pikrepo - www.pikrepo.com/search?q=koala+bear
Koala's live on the east coast of Australia in large Eucalyptus bush areas. Adult males need a lot of space, about 100 trees.
Description
Koala's have large round heads with big furry ears and a big black nose. They have grey-brown fur with white fur on their chests, inner arms, ears and bottoms. With poor vision, koala's rely on this good sense of smell and excellent sense of hearing.
Koala's weigh about 9.07kg and can measure between 59.69cm to 85.09cm in length.
Diet
Koalas are well known for eating Eucalyptus leaves. They also will feed off other related trees, such as the Brush box tree, the Paper Bark tree and the Bloodwood tree. Koalas will eat up to 1kg of leaves a day. Because of the moisture that is found in leaves, koalas don't usually need to drink, unless there is a drought.
Threats
Koala's have many threats, both natural and not natural. Natural threats are animals that eat Koala like dingos, owls and dogs. Habitat loss though land clearing, logging and bushfires have great reduced Koala numbers. The 2019/20 summer especially took a huge toll on Koala numbers as many were killed in the large forest fires that raged across large parts of Australia. Other threats caused by humans include roadkill and poaching for their fur.
How to help?
Organisations like Australia Zoo and other wildlife hospitals and and zoos are doing their best to help Koala's. Injured Koala are taken to wildlife hospitals were they are looked after and then released again if possible. Conservation efforts are being run to buy land where Koala could live and public awareness campaigns are also being run, particularly by Australia Zoo.
References
National Geographic - www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/koala?loggedin=true
Australian Koala Foundation - www.savethekoala.com/about-koalas/interesting-facts/
Department of Environment and Science - environment.des.qld.gov.au/wildlife/animals/living-with/koalas/facts
World Wildlife Fund - www.wwf.org.au/news/blogs/10-interesting-facts-about-koalas
ICUN Red List - www.iucnredlist.org/species/16892/166496779
Pikrepo - www.pikrepo.com/search?q=koala+bear