The koala is an iconic animal of Australia. Commonly known as the koala, this tree-climbing animal is a marsupial – a mammal that has a pouch for developing offspring.
Although koalas look fuzzy, their fur is more like raw sheep’s wool. They have two opposing thumbs on their hands, and both feet and hands have rough pads and claws for clinging to tree branches. They have two toes, fused together on the paws, which they use for grooming.
Source: Nat Geo WILD
Habitat, behavior and diet
Koalas live in the eucalyptus forests of southeastern and eastern Australia. When not sleeping, they are usually eating. They rely on eucalyptus trees for both habitat and food. Koalas can eat more than a pound of eucalyptus leaves per day. Eucalyptus is poisonous, so a koala’s digestive system has to work hard to digest it, break down toxins, and extract limited nutrients.
That’s why koalas sleep a lot — they get very little energy from their diet. Caught in a fork or a nook in a tree, koalas can sleep for 18 to 22 hours.
Koalas don’t usually drink a lot of water because they get most of their moisture from these leaves. Koalas can even store leaves in their cheek pouches for later use. They eat so much eucalyptus that they often feel the smell of it.
Threats to survival
Koala populations declined sharply in the late 19th and early 20th centuries due to hunting for their fur. Now, they face serious threats from habitat loss. Land clearing, logging, and wildfires — especially the devastating 2019-2020 season — have destroyed much of the forest they inhabit. Koalas need a lot of space — about a hundred trees per head — an urgent problem as Australia’s forests continue to shrink.
Koalas are listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which ranks them as one of the 10 most vulnerable animals to climate change. Increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide is reducing the nutritional quality of eucalyptus leaves (which are already quite low) and causing longer, more intense droughts and wildfires. In response to drought, koalas are forced to stop napping and descend from trees in search of water, consuming precious energy and putting them at greater risk of predation.
Predators include dingoes and large owls. They are also at risk of being hit by a car and attacked by a dog. Chlamydia is common in some koala populations and can cause blindness, infertility, and sometimes death.
Preservation
The koala lost much of its habitat during the 2019-2020 bushfire season and has been identified by the Australian government as one of 113 animals in urgent need of help. Wildlife hospitals, rescue organisations, zoos and volunteers have stepped up care for injured koalas, with the goal of rehabilitating and releasing them back into the wild.
Prioritize making sure there’s the right type of forest for them to return to. Although there are several koala sanctuaries and sanctuaries, many species live on private, unprotected land. Zoo Australia and others are making conservation efforts to buy large tracts of land for koalas, and state governments are also creating new koala sanctuaries. Campaigns to urge landowners not to cut down eucalyptus trees are also ongoing.
Research is another key component of conservation efforts. A better understanding of koala genetics, mating selection and health will shed light on koala biology, which is important for developing better plans to protect the species.
