The Wonderful World of Koalas
Written by Patrice Miller
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Who Am I?
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Marsupial Mammals
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Habitat of Koalas
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Cough Drop meals
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From Baby to Adult
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Sources of Information
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Who Am I?
The word koala comes from an Australian aboriginal word that means animal who does not drink. This unique (jʊˈniːk) animal comes from Australia (aw-STRALE-YUH) and this truly describes a koala. They rarely, not very often, need to drink water as their food provides most of the water they need. Koalas who live in the northern east coast of Australia have short, light, reddish fur. On the other hand, the koalas who live in the southern east coast have colder weather. Their coats are thicker and longer, plus they are a dark, gray color.
Marsupial Mammals
Koalas are often called koala bears, but they are not acutally a bear at all. They are related to a group of mammals called marsupials (mar-Soop-ee-uhls). Scientists think that koalas are closely related to the wombat. Both of these marsupials carry their babies in downward-facing pouches, for several months, after being born. This keeps the baby safe and gives it time to finish growing.
One baby koala is born to a mother koala every other year. The new baby joey, or baby koala, is as small as a jelly bean and totally pink. It does not have any fur, plus it is blind and deaf . The joey swims through its mother's fur to the pouch with its strong front paws and arms. Instinct helps the joey find mom's pouch, where it climbs in to drink mom's milk.
Habitat of Koalas
The place that koalas spend their time eating, sleeping, and traveling is in the eucalyptus tree. The eucalyptus tree gives the koala food to munch on, plus it is where the koala sleeps 18 hours a day! The koala can fall asleep in the middle of eating, leaving a leaf hanging out of its mouth. There is usually only one koala per tree. It is not a social animal.
This marsupial spends little time on the ground as it feels safer in trees. It uses its handy paws for climbing to quickly move up the tree. If the koala wants to travel to another tree, it forms a bridge of the branches. The koala will climb to the very tip of a branch, which causes it to bend over to the next tree. Then, it climbs along the bridge to the new tree to either sleep or eat.
Cough drop meals
This picky eater munches only on the leaves of the eucalyptus tree. They only eat specific leaves from a few kinds of eucalyptus trees. Eucalyptus leaves do not have very much nutrition . This means the koala must eat about 2 pounds of leaves each day. In order to eat this much, koalas spend 5 hours each day eating.
The oil from eucalyptus leaves are used to make cough (ˈkɑːf) drops for people. This is why a koala will smell like a cough (ˈkɑːf) drop. However, this provides the koala with a natural flea and parasite protector. As a result, koalas have beautiful, soft fur.
From Baby to Adult
Baby koalas live in their mom's pouch for 5 to 6 months. They are getting bigger and their back legs are now fully grown. The baby has been drinking mom's milk and is now ready to eat regular food, eucalyptus leaves. It crawls out of the pouch and onto mom's back. The baby koala now begins to smell the eucalyptus leaves. It will let go of mom's fur and start eating the leaves.
As the baby grows, it will stay close to mom for several more months. If it is tired or lonely, it will crawl back onto mom's back. Soon, mom begins pushing the baby to start a life of its own. She will no longer let the baby on her back. The young adult koala will now find a territory of its own to live, sleep, and eat.
Sources of Information:
All about koalas for kids: Koalas for children-FreeSchool. (2017). FreeSchool. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzU-DjUMzsg
Green, H., & Hofmeister, C. (2015). Animals with pouches! SciShow Kids. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4s0Ewd3pG4s
Kind-Definitions for English-Language Learners from Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved April 3, 2018, from http://www.learnersdictionary.com/definition/kinds
MacLeod, E. (1989). Nature’s children: Koalas. Danbury, CT: Grolier Educational Corporation.
Marsh, L. (2014). National geographic kids: Koalas. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society.
Stunning Free Images · Pixabay. (n.d.). Retrieved April 22, 2018, from https://pixabay.com/