The koala is found in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. It lives in high tree tops in National Parks and forests. The koala likes to spend his day curled up in the fork of a eucalyptus tree. Their powerful legs help them to keep their balance in the trees.

The koala eats eucalyptus leaves and shoots. It climbs with its sharp claws to the very top of the branches so it can get the young leaves. The koala rarely drinks because it gets all its moisture from the leaves. About 5 hours every night is spent on eating leaves. It eats about 500g to 1kg a day. It eats the leaves by putting them in its mouth on an angle, and grinding them up with its molar teeth. Eucalyptus leaves have a lot of poisonous substances and the koala is the only other mammal other than the Greater glider who can eat these leaves.

CHARACTERISTICS The koala has a large black nose, short fat legs and is covered with thick, woolly, grey fur. The koala has one baby a year and it takes 35 days to be born. It is only 2cm long and can't see and doesn't have any hair. The adult koala grows up 80cm tall and looks like a small bear. The Queensland adult koala weighs 5 to 9kg and a female, 5 to 7.5kg. In the south, they are larger. The koala has two thumbs on its front paws and rough pads on all four paws to help grip slippery tree trunks.

DANGERS

The koala doesn't have many enemies. Large pythons, wedge tailed eagles, and the powerful owl take baby koalas from the branches. The dingo catches the koala when it is on the ground. One of the biggest problems for the koala is man. He clears the eucalyptus forests to make roads. That leaves the koala with fewer homes. Another danger is the bushfire. A disease which threatens the koala is chlamdia which causes infertility.
 
 

 INFORMATION AND INTERESTING HABITS

Koala is an aboriginal word meaning "no water". The koala is a marsupial with a backward facing pouch. The baby koala climbs into its mother's pouch which has two teats and stays there for 6 to 7 months. When the koala is born, it is the size of a broad bean. The adult koala spend 19 hours sleeping or just sitting on a branch. If a flood threatens the koala's home, it is able to escape by crossing the water, because it is a very strong swimmer. The call of the koala is like wood being cut by a saw. Because this animal is rare in the wild, it is now protected by law.

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