Pamela Jay
Forty Winks
Koalas might look like a bear and have the nickname 'Koala bear', but they are marsupials.
The closest living relative to the Koala is the wombat.
Newborn Koalas are so little they could fit on your thumbnail. Koala joeys stay in their mothers’ pouch for about seven months.
Koalas are perfectly built for climbing trees. They have rough paw pads with sharp claws which help them grip tree trunks and branches.
Koalas live in eucalypt forests in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia.
Koalas are fussy eaters, eating only a few types of eucalypt leaves. They eat up to one kilogram of leaves each day.
You could think that eucalypt leaves make Koalas drunk, because they seem so dozy. This is a myth - Koala food has little energy, so they rest through the day, saving their energy to look for food at night.
The Aboriginal name for the Koala means ‘no drink animal’. They get most of the water they need from their food or from dew or rainwater on leaves. During drought people have seen Koalas come down from their trees to drink.
Koalas can live up to 18 years. They breed once a year, usually between September and March.
Forty Winks
Koalas might look like a bear and have the nickname 'Koala bear', but they are marsupials.
The closest living relative to the Koala is the wombat.
Newborn Koalas are so little they could fit on your thumbnail. Koala joeys stay in their mothers’ pouch for about seven months.
Koalas are perfectly built for climbing trees. They have rough paw pads with sharp claws which help them grip tree trunks and branches.
Koalas live in eucalypt forests in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia.
Koalas are fussy eaters, eating only a few types of eucalypt leaves. They eat up to one kilogram of leaves each day.
You could think that eucalypt leaves make Koalas drunk, because they seem so dozy. This is a myth - Koala food has little energy, so they rest through the day, saving their energy to look for food at night.
The Aboriginal name for the Koala means ‘no drink animal’. They get most of the water they need from their food or from dew or rainwater on leaves. During drought people have seen Koalas come down from their trees to drink.
Koalas can live up to 18 years. They breed once a year, usually between September and March.