Koala
The koala (Phascolarctus cinereus). (Greek: phaskolos means pouch; arktos means bear. Latin: cinereus means ash-colored.) Although popularly referred to as 'bears' koalas are actually marsupials, and the females have a rear-facing pouch on their belly for their young. The pouch is ringed by a drawstrikinglike muscle that the mother can tighten at will.
Koalas are found right up the East coast of Australia, and there are actually three sub-species -
- P.c. victor (Victoria)
- P.c. cinereus (New South Wales)
- P.c. adustus (Queensland).
Koalas used to be found in South Australia as well, but they were exterminated during the early part of the 20th Century
P.c victor is the largest of the three, and koalas in the northern part of the country are noticably smaller. A Southern male koala weighs in at approximately 26 lbs/11.8 kg, and a southern female at 17.4 lbs/7.9 kg, while at the northern end of their range, a male koala weighs about 14.3 lbs/6.5 kg and a female 11.2 lbs/5.1 kg.
Southern koalas have a thick dense coat, while the Northern variety have a much thinner fur, as befits the warmer Queensland climate. Most koalas are grey with fluffy white ears, white chin, chest and forelimbs, and white patches on their rump, growing lighter with age. Coat colour is highly individual, and some koalas are a pale tawny brown.
Koalas live almost entirely on eucalyptus leaves, a low-grade diet. Perhaps because these leaves do not provide much energy, they sleep approximately 3/4 of the time. The remainder of their time is devoted to eating, or to wandering in search of fresh food and mates.
Contrary to popular opinion, koalas do NOT eat 'all gum leaves'. There are several hundred species of eucalypts, but koalas favour only a few of them. It is hard for researchers to discern exactly which species the koalas like best because they are nocturnal, solitary animals and hard to track, but their favourite species seem to be the manna gum (Eucalyptus viminalis), the grey gum (Eucalyptus punctata) and the red gum (Eucalyptus camaidulensis). On occasion they have also been observed eating lesser quantities of other varieties of eucalypt, and even occasionally to nibble non-eucalyptus species such as pinus radiata.
Koalas were hunted almost to extinction in the early 20th century. A conservation effort since then has succeeded in increasing the population, but they are still threatened by habitat loss. Koalas are nomadic solitary creatures, travelling long distances down 'tree corridors' in search of new territory and mates. Many of these corridors have been cut by development, forestry or road-building, marooning the colonies in ever-decreasing areas of bush. Some of the colonies have been hard hit by disease, especially chlamydia