An Australian icon: the koala

The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia, and these wonderful creatures truly are incredibly cute. Contrary to common perception, a koala is not a bear (which is a mammal) but a marsupial and it therefore gives birth to joey's that remain in the koala's pouch after birth until they are further grown. Koala's live alone and not in groups, and are the only creatures that have a full eucalypt diet (toxic to most species), although they sometimes might nibble on other leaves just for the taste.They live in trees, and most of their days they spend sleeping, since they have a very low digestion cycle. Although only 100.000 koala's exist in the wild, the population is fairly stable and therefore it is rated as being of 'Least Concern' by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The same view is taken by the Australian government, although the US government views the species as ' threatened'.

 

This particular koala is photographed at the famous Taronga Zoological Gardens, Sydney, Australia.

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