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Koalas
Native to Australia and exclusive to the eucalypt forests of Eastern and South-Eastern Australia, there are only three subspecies of Koala. Solitary animals, Koalas sleep as long as long as 18 hours a day and have a low-energy diet of eucalyptus leaves.
1,608 Questions
Koalas almost only eat the leaves and bark of what tree?
There is no tree that only koalas eat.
Koalas are known for being specialist feeders that eat only from certain species of eucalyptus trees. However, they are not the only animals that can eat eucalyptus leaves. Greater gliders and ringtail possums can live on eucalyptus leaves, while many other native Australian animals such as wombats and kangaroos will eat the leaves and shoots of young saplings.
Is there such a thing as a koala bear?
Koalas are not bears at all. They are not related to the bear family, but are marsupials. Bears are placental mammals.
Koalas are only called bears because they have a vagueresemblance to a teddy bear.
Koalas have many unique abilities. One for which they are possibly best known is that they have very strong claws suitable for gripping trees and climbing. Between their first and second "fingers" is a large gap, which enables them to also grip tree branches comfortably, whilst their hind legs have one toe set at a wide angle.
What are marsupials characterized by?
Most marsupials are characterised by a pouch, but not all of them are. The numbat, for example, is a marsupial without a pouch.
However, all marsupials are characterised by the fact that the young are born extremely undeveloped, and must find their way to the mother's teat which then swells in the young joey's mouth, attaching it firmly in place while it continues its development - either inside a pouch, or clasping the mother's underbelly.
Female marsupials have two vaginas, or what are called paired lateral vaginae. These are for the purpose of transporting the sperm to the womb, but there is a midline pseudovaginal canal for actually giving birth. As well as two vaginas and two uteruses, female marsupials have two fallopian tubes and two cervixes. Most male marsupials, with the exception of the largest species, the Red Kangaroo, Eastern Grey and Western Grey Kangaroos, have a "bifurcated" or two-pronged penis to accommodate the females' two vaginas.
How many koalas in Australia in 2005?
The Threatened Species Scientific Committee of the Australian Government has put the koala population in the 'hundreds of thousands'. The Australia Koala Foundation believes that koala numbers in the wild have dropped to below 80 000, with recent research indicating the figure may be as low as 43 000.
What is the current population and the population now of koalas?
The Australia Koala Foundation estimates that koala numbers in the wild have dropped to below 80,000.
As a species, the koala is not endangered in Australia, but some local populations have been reduced considerably.
The conservation status of koalas varies from region to region in Australia. For example, due to farming, land clearing and habitat loss, native koalas were eradicated from Western Australia and South Australia in the last century, but moves have been made to reestablish new colonies in both states. Currently, koalas are thriving on Kangaroo Island in SA, and in other isolated colonies.
Koalas are still listed as "common" in most parts of Queensland, but in the southeast region of Queensland, their status will soon be changed to "vulnerable", following a drop of over 60% in koala numbers in the past decade.
The NSW Government listed the koala as "rare and vulnerable" in 1992, and following protective measures, this has been changed to "vulnerable"; as a result, koala numbers are improving. In Victoria, the koala is not on the threatened species list at all, and in some protected and remote regions, there is actually anoverpopulation problem. Where new colonies have been established on Kangaroo island, off the coast of South Australia, there is also beginning to be some concern regarding overpopulation.
No. To begin with, zebra and koalas occupy completely different continents, with zebras being found in Africa and koalas endemic to Australia. Secondly, zebras are herbivorous and do not feed on other animals.
Why did giant koalas become extinct?
Koalas as a species are a long way from extinction. There are however regional areas of Australia where traditional populations of these animals are under threat due to the usual man made problems of urban development, deforestation etc. Despite all this, the koala is holding its own and has many areas of protected habitats to live in. On an island off the southern coast for instance, there are literally too many koalas for the food sources to keep up and the solution for this still hasn't been worked out. One drastic idea put forward is to destroy a certain number of koalas so that equilibrium can be established.
Koalas are protected and have been protected for a long time. They are not found in all areas of Australia. They are being pushed out of their natural habitat by urban growth. Koalas are also dying from a disease called Chlamydia, infecting the eyes and causing blindness, and compromising the koala's fertility.
The conservation status of koalas varies from region to region in Australia, but they are by no means becoming extinct. For example, due to farming and land clearing, native koalas were eradicated from Western Australia and South Australia in the last century, but moves have been made to reestablish new colonies in both states. Currently, koalas are thriving on Kangaroo Island in SA, and in other isolated colonies throughout SA's southeast.
Koalas are still listed as "common" in most parts of Queensland, but in the southeast region of Queensland, their status has been changed to "vulnerable". The NSW Government listed the koala as "rare and vulnerable" in 1992, and following protective measures, this has been changed to "vulnerable". In Victoria, the koala is not on the threatened species list at all, and in some protected and remote regions, there is actually an overpopulationproblem.
Despite urging by conservation groups since around 1992, Australia's federal government has not yet listed the koala as vulnerable, except in certain areas. Even international conservation groups cannot agree. Meanwhile, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the koala as "potentially vulnerable", while the US Endangered Species Act lists the koala as "threatened".
How does the koala communicate?
Yes. Koalas communicate with each other via snorts, hisses, grunts and other similar sounds. Males also communicate with other koalas via their strong scent glands. They have a scent gland on their chest which they use to rub against the base of certain trees to indicate their home range of trees.
What is the classification of the koala?
The classification of the koala is:
COMMON NAME: Koala
KINGDOM: Animalia
PHYLUM: Chordata
CLASS: Mammalia
INFRACLASS: Marsupialia
ORDER: Diprotodonta
FAMILY: Phascolarctidae
GENUS SPECIES: Phascolarctos (leather-pouched bear) cinereus (ash-color)
Not "anything", no.
Koalas live exclusively on a diet of eucalyptus leaves and sometimes blossoms.
Kangaroos are nocturnal, so they are active at night. This means that they do not stay anywhere at night, but rather move around through the grasslands or open bushland where they live, feeding and mating.
What else do koalas eat besides leaves?
Very little.
While there are hundreds of different eucalyptus species in Australia, koalas eat from only about 60 of the species, consuming about half a kilogram of eucalyptus leaves every day. Within these 60 species, there are about a dozen of the "preferred" variety. Koalas have been known to also eat the buds, flowers and bark of these particular species, while dirt also seems to supplement mineral deficiencies. Koalas have been seen feeding in eucalypt trees such as Manna Gum, Swamp Gum, Blue Gum, Forest Red Gum and Grey Gum.
Are baby koalas born with fur?
Koalas spend all of their time out in the opwn, in eucalyptus (gum) trees. Because of this, they need fur that will insulate them against both the heat and the cold, and also against wet weather. The nature of koalas' fur ensures that the water will not soak through to their skin, and it also has the insulating effects of keeping them warm in cold weather, and blocking out the heat in hot weather.
Why is the Virginia opossum considered a generalist and the koala is considered a specialist?
The koala is considered a "specialist" because it can only survive within a very specialised environment, specifically where there are certain species of eucalyptus trees. The koala has a limited diet, feeding on the leaves of those trees alone. This is what makes it a specialist.
The Virginia opossum is considered a generalist because it is able to survive in a variety of environments. It is not limited to a single food source or a single type of environment. It feeds on a variety of fruits, insects, plants, and small vertebrates. As it can easily find food almost anywhere in its environment, this is what makes it a generalist.
Do koalas like climbing trees?
Koalas climb eucalypt trees because that is where their food is.
The Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) is a marsupial mammal and is indigenous to Australia. Their closest relative is the wombat.
They live in eucalyptus trees and eat only a few types of gum leaves from which they get all nutrients and water requirements. Eucalyptus leaves are tough, toxic and low in nutrition, but the koala has developed a stomach which is capable of removing the toxins from where they are filtered out by the liver. The caecum completes the process by changing the eucalyptus leaves into digestible nutrients. The caecum is similar to the human appendix.
The koala must eat over a kilogram of leaves per day to meet its energy requirements. Eucalyptus leaves contain approximately 50% water, 18% fibre, 13% tannins, 8% fat, 5% carbohydrates, 4% protein and 2% minerals. Koalas have been seen feeding in 120 kinds of eucalypt tree including Manna Gum, Swamp Gum, Blue Gum, Forest Red Gum and Grey Gum.
Does the mother koala only have a pouch or does the father have one too?
Yes. The males have nothing to do with rearing of young koala joeys.
Is a koala a predator or prey or both a predator and a prey?
Neither. The Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) is a tree dwelling, herbivorous, mostly nocturnal marsupial mammal and is indigenous to Australia. They live in eucalyptus trees and eat only a few types of gum leaves exclusively, from which they get all nutrients and water requirements.
What way does the koala's pouch face?
The female koala has an "upside down" or backward-opening pouch for two reasons.
Firstly, the koala is built for climbing trees. It spends many of its waking hours climbing up and down trees and along tree branches, and this can mean that all sort of debris such as pieces of bark, twigs and leaves could accumulate in a pouch that opened at the top. Having the opening at the bottom (and an opening that is securely held closed by a sphincter-like muscle) means this does not happen.
Secondly, it makes it easier for the young koala to feed once it gets older.
After a baby koala is about 28-30 weeks old, the mother produces a substance called pap. This substance is actually a specialised form of the mother's droppings which, having passed through her digestive system, give the joey the enzymes it needs to be able to start digesting the tough gum leaves, making an easier transition for the baby koala to start eating eucalyptus leaves. The koala joey's head just needs to emerge from the backward-opening pouch to feed on this pap.
Do koalas breathe through their nose?
Koalas do have rather large and prominent noses. The reason koalas have large noses is that they need to be able to tell the difference between the eucalyptus leaves they eat. Koalas will not eat all types of eucalyptus, feeding on just 14 species as their primary food source, specifically, the subgenus Symphyomyrphus.
The other reason they need such a finely tuned sense of smell is that eucalyptus leaves vary in their toxicity levels, and koalas need to be able to differentiate, avoiding the leaves when they're at their highest toxicity levels.
Koalas are quite territorial, although they share trees in their home range with other koalas. they still need to be able to detect scent warnings placed on trees by other koalas.
Newborn koalas already have quite a large nose for the size of the embryo. It has been theorised that they have an acute sense of smell already when first born to enable them to find their way to the mother's pouch. They are completely blind at this stage, but it is thought they use the scent of the mother's milk on the teats in the pouch to find their way.
Were koalas named after the kola tree?
The name is believed to come from the Aboriginal word "gula", which means "no drink." Koalas get their water from the leaves they eat, so they don't require fluid sustenance (although they will drink water in a drought or in extreme heat).
There are a number of different names for the koala in various aboriginal dialects. Some of the other names are cola/colah, koolah, boorabee, kaola, burrenbong and koolewong.
The first written name for the koala was "koolah", given in an article in the "Sydney Gazette", around 1803.
