Koala Bear
The Koala Bear is not actually a bear at all. It’s a marsupial species of Australia famous for its teddy-bear look, quiet personality, and slow movements. Koalas spend most of their lives in trees. Their diet consists almost exclusively of eucalyptus leaves. Koalas are not very large, standing around 30 inches at the withers and weighing between 15 and 30 pounds.
The Koala Bear has several adaptations to Australian climate and arboreal lifestyle. Their fur is very thick and wooly to protect these animals from temperature extremes and from rain. Koalas even don’t have to build nests in order to stay warm and dry. These animals don’t sweat and have to cool themselves by licking their hands. Koalas spend much time sitting on hard branches, so the fur on their bottom is long and very dense to provide a cushion. Mottled fur coloration on the bottom makes these animals invisible from the ground.
The digestive system of the Koala is able to cope with poisonous constituents contained in eucalyptus leaves. A big nose of the Koala Bear can distinguish poisonous plants. A low-calorie diet is the reason why these animals have to conserve energy. Usually, Koalas sleep up to 18 hours a day and spend the rest of the day eating. Koalas are nocturnal and crepuscular animals, because during hotter hours they would lose more energy and moisture than during cooler night hours.
While looking clumsy and baby-like, the Koala Bear is very muscular and lean. Its limbs can support the body for many hours. Koalas have five toes on their paws, curved claws, and rough pads on the palms. It provides for a firm grip of branches. This species has an excellent sense of balance. On the ground, Koalas are very slow-moving. Because these animals are helpless on the ground, they have almost been hunted to extinction in the early 20th century. The thick fur of the Koala was very valuable. Besides hunting and poaching, in the wild these animals suffer from predators and diseases. Today, this species has no special status due to effective conservation measures. The Koala Bear does well and reproduces in several zoos.
