KOALA

While it looks like a small bear, the koala is actually a marsupial whose hands and feet are specially adapted for climbing trees. When it descends to the ground, it shuffles along awkwardly on its short, stocky legs.

HABITAT

The koala lives almost exclusively in the  top braches of eucalyptus trees. Its strong legs and sharp claws help it grip the trunks.

BREEDING

Koalas mate between December and March. A single baby is born 35 days later. It is blind, hairless, and only 3/4 inch long. By instinct, it drags itself into its mother's pouch, which opens to the rear rather than to the front as with most other marsupials. 

After six months, the young koala leaves the pouch and clings to its mother's back, remaining with her until the following mating season. It then moves to another tree and lives independently for two to four years until it is sexually mature.

FOOD & FEEDING

During the course of its evolution, the koala has developed special cheek pouches that store food and a digestive system to handle a diet consisting entirely of eucalyptus leaves. Of the more than 100 species of eucalyptus tree that grow in Australia, the koala feeds on only twelve.

Koalas eat between one and two bounds of leaves daily and can easily exhaust their own food supply. The main difficulty in keeping koalas alive in zoos and sanctuaries is obtaining enough eucalyptus leaves of the right species with which to keep them fed. They cannot survive without eucalyptus.

KEY FACTS 

        Size 

              Height: 24 inches.

              Weight: Males, up to 26 lb. Female, 17 lb.

       Breeding

             Sexual maturity: Males, 3-4 years.  Female, 2-3 years.

             Mating: December to March. 

             Gestation: 25-35 days. 

             Number of young:  1.

       Lifestyle

            Habit: Solitary tree-dweller, except during mating. 

            Diet: Eucalyptus leaves. 

            Lifespan: 15-20 years.

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