Koala species criteria. Marsupial animal - koala or bear with a bag (lives in Australia): description, interesting facts, photos and pictures, video - koalas hugging

Koalas are mammals, marsupials. Live in natural environment wild only in Australia and Tasmania (like many other marsupials). They resemble bears only in appearance. The lifestyle of koalas is completely different.

Animal life has been studied by scientists since the 19th century. Previously, this animal was unknown to science.

Quote from the site " Amazing world Australia":

“Koala packs were known to science and society only in 1802, and a year later the first living animal of this breed was caught.
Its “official” scientific name Koalas got their name back in 1816, when they were given the name Phascolarctos – from the Greek phaskolos “skin bag” + arktos “bear”.
Koalas got their specific name, cinereus (gray, ashy), thanks to the color of their fur.”

Koalas lead exclusively night look life. At night, these cute lumps doze on comfortable beds made of eucalyptus branches. Of course, beds in trees. Well, it’s not far from the dining room

In the language of indigenous Australians, the word "koala" means "never drinking water" Indeed, these amazing bears obtain almost all the liquid they need for life from eucalyptus leaves.

They, unlike bears, do not eat meat at all and feed exclusively on eucalyptus leaves, and in different time of the year - different types this type of tree. This is because many varieties of eucalyptus emit poisonous substances at some point in time. chemical compounds. This is mainly hydrocyanic acid, which, when released into the blood, affects the respiratory system. Also, koalas are not like bears because they lead almost completely wood image life and descend from their abode only to climb another tree.

Koalas' feet are excellent for climbing and clinging.
Their big and index fingers are opposed to all the others - it is more convenient to grasp the branches.

Koalas also have a tail, it’s just so tiny that it’s almost unnoticeable.

The fur of these animals is soft and thick, its color depends on the area where the koala lives, and can be gray, reddish and even reddish. On the belly it is always lighter than on the back.

One of the most prominent parts of a koala's body is its claws. They are so powerful and strong that, having stuck them into a tree, the koala does not fall down, even when he is fast asleep.

And they sleep often and for a long time, up to 20 hours a day. Koalas are generally very phlegmatic animals: during the day, even if they do not sleep, they sit motionless, clinging to a tree and only turning their heads from side to side. Often the baby sits on the female’s back, as calm as its mother.

Adult males have their own harems (groups of females). IN summer period time, approximately once every two years a female koala gives birth to a single baby.

A newborn cub reaches approximately 2 cm and weighs 5 grams. For half a year the bear cub sits in its mother’s bag. At 7-8 months, the baby begins to gradually get out of his mother’s bag and explore the world, and at 9 months he leaves his shelter and moves to his mother’s back, where he will spend about another year.

The average lifespan of an animal is about 13 years, although there are individuals that live up to 18 years. The female often lives longer than the male. Koalas easily get used to captivity if it is an Australian reserve. However, they only need eucalyptus, so they reproduce well in state protected parks.

The number of koalas was declining alarmingly quickly due to mass hunting. Koala hunting is now prohibited. The number of these wonderful bears is slowly but increasing.

Interesting thing: koalas have fingerprints similar to humans.

We invite you to look at photographs of these wonderful animals.

Sometimes I can’t believe that these funny animals really live in wildlife. I just want to take the koala in my arms. take it home, wrap it in a blanket and cradle it like a baby :))

Thick fur makes the animal look like a teddy bear. Interestingly, the color of the fur depends on where the koala lives.
Possible fur colors: smoky gray, bright and light red, almost red.

Interestingly, koalas do not drink water at all.

On the soft pads of koala fingers, if you look closely, you can see a pattern identical to a human print.

Koalas can also boast of their claws, which are so strong that they can withstand the weight of the animal.

There are no claws on the big toes of the koala's hind legs.

Koala pregnancy lasts only 1 month.

After birth, the baby lives in the mother’s pouch for six months and feeds on milk.

Then, when the baby moves onto his mother’s back, he eats special feces (excrement) so that the baby receives the necessary microorganisms for good digestion.

Koalas sleep 18-22 hours a day. Still would! They get so tired digesting their heavy food...

Koalas are under the close attention of the World Wildlife Fund.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF, - World Wide Fund for Nature, World Wildlife Fund) is one of the world's largest public charitable organizations, working for more than 50 years to protect nature around the planet. Every year WWF carries out over 1200 environmental projects, attracting the attention of millions of people to the problems of protection environment and their solution.

Koalas are usually silent. They make sounds only in times of danger. Frightened or injured koalas scream and cry like human children.

Here's another interesting fact:

The size of these amazing animals can vary (as well as the color of the fur) depending on the territory in which the individual lives. Thus, the largest individuals live in the state of Victoria, and the smallest of the koalas live in Queensland.

The story of a baby koala named Raymond

Not long ago, not far from the Australian town of Brisbane, an orphaned baby koala was discovered right on the road. Of course, the man who found him could not leave the baby to die in the middle of the road.

He was so small that he easily fit into a coffee mug, and even now, a month later, he had grown only a little. His nurse and guardian Julie Zyzniewski gave the baby the nickname Raymond.

Koala cubs, forced to be separated from their mothers at such an early age, suffer incredibly and even fall into real depression, refusing the milk offered to them. But Julia managed to feed and warm the baby with her care and affection. He began to eat and get better. In a couple of weeks he gained as much as 65 grams!!!

You just want to hold these adorable little animals in your arms or at least just touch them: they are cute, funny and look very similar to a soft toy. Their appearance evokes affection in absolutely everyone and wins hearts at first sight. Of course, these are koalas, the description of their appearance and habits is truly worthy of attention! Let's get to know these wonderful animals better!

Bear or not bear?

Many people mistakenly believe that a koala is a bear, and a marsupial at that! In fact, this is not entirely true. The koala is a marsupial that has nothing in common with bears, except perhaps its appearance looks too much like a teddy bear. Scientists have not come to a consensus, but it is assumed that the koala is a wombat that evolved many years ago and moved from the ground to a tree. But since it is still generally accepted that the koala is a bear, we will not dispute this fact.

Description

This animal looks very funny: it reaches 82 centimeters in length and weighs about 16 kilograms. The koala has large round fluffy ears and dense cheeks. The eyes are small, round, brown or amber in color. The funny black nose stands out noticeably - it is the only part of the koala's body that is not covered with hair. The marsupial has 4 fingers on each limb. The coat is dense, thick and unusually soft, gray on the back and light on the belly. The pouch in which small koalas are hatched opens backwards. These animals do not like haste; they are phlegmatic people who live for their own pleasure. They like to sleep during the day and eat at night.

Fatal defenselessness

The only place natural habitat these unique animals - who dearly loves these touching little animals. Another fact that casts doubt on the fact that the koala is a bear is its peaceful and completely non-aggressive disposition. This defenseless animal cannot stand up for itself. There was a time when koalas were mercilessly killed for their fluffy skins, which were in great demand and exported to other continents. In addition, these animals have weak immunity and poor adaptability to climate and environmental change.

In addition, koalas often die during fires that occasionally engulf eucalyptus forests. Animals frightened by fire, instead of running to a safer place, only cling tighter to the trunk of their native tree home, leaving themselves no chance to survive.

As a result, the number of koalas is rapidly declining, and today there are very few of them left - only about 80,000 individuals.

Menu for marsupials

It is also interesting what the koala eats. These animals are very picky eaters and do not eat anything except eucalyptus leaves, which are very poorly nutritious - they have practically no protein. Besides, eucalyptus leaves poisonous - their fibers contain phenols and terpenes, and can also cause almost instant death.

Why is this animal not poisoned by what it eats? After all, the koala leisurely chews poisonous eucalyptus all day long and feels great at the same time! The fact is that the animals eat only young leaves from those trees that grow along rivers - the concentration of toxic substances in them is much lower. In addition, marsupials have a unique liver, which has a function that neutralizes poison. Another interesting fact is that koalas practically do not drink water - the moisture contained in the leaves is quite enough for them.

Almost like people

Koalas live alone or in small families, which consist of one male and several females. In a word - a harem. Koalas breed in the first half of autumn. The female's pregnancy lasts about 30 days and ends with the birth of one baby, whose weight is extremely small - only 6 grams! Only the mother raises the baby - the father does not take any part in this labor-intensive process.

The little koala lives in its mother’s brood pouch for about 7 months and feeds there on milk and gruel from semi-digested eucalyptus leaves. At the age of 7-8 months, the cub leaves its cozy little world and moves onto her back. Koalas are very good mothers, one might say, They patiently carry their grown baby on their backs for the next 5 months. In addition, the mother koala protects the cub from all kinds of misfortunes, and during sleep or chilly weather she hugs her child to herself, warming him with her warmth. Baby koalas love to sleep in their mother's arms, and only after they are one year old do they begin to live independently.

An amazing animal - koala. Whether it is a bear or not is not exactly clear, but one thing is known: this marsupial does not rush into anything, including its own maturation: the koala enters sexual maturity at 3-4 years, and its total life expectancy reaches 20 years .

Home, home

Despite the fact that koalas are easily tamed and very attached to those who care for them, it is almost impossible to keep them in captivity - after all, they require 1 kilogram of fresh eucalyptus leaves per day! Moreover, koalas should not eat leaves that grow, for example, in Sochi or Crimea. They feel good only at home - in Australia.

Due to the threat of complete extinction of cute fluffies, the government of the country took them under protection and assigned koalas the status of vulnerable animals whose existence is in danger of extinction. Eucalyptus groves are planted in parks especially for these charming animals. In addition, koalas are listed in the Red Book of Australia, and there is hope that the efforts of caring people will be justified, and defenseless marsupials will delight the planet with their existence for many, many millennia.

Few people can remain indifferent when contemplating a charming animal that looks like a little bear. Although the Australian resident has nothing to do with them. Like many other inhabitants of Australia, the koala is a marsupial mammal. It was first described in 1798, when it was found in the Blue Mountains (Australia). Since then, the animal with a wide muzzle and small eyes, a curved nose, soft and silvery fur, and shaggy ears has been loved by many.

Koalas are descended from their closest relatives, wombats. They are similar to them, but differ in softer and thicker fur, their ears are slightly larger, and their limbs are longer.

The animal's sharp claws help it easily move along tree trunks; the shape and size of its limbs also contribute to this. The hands of the front paws have two thumbs, which are set to the side, with three more fingers located next to them. This design of the palms helps the animal to easily grasp branches and tree trunks and hold onto them tenaciously, and for young animals to hold on to their mother’s fur. The koala, clutching a branch, sleeps on a tree, and it can even be supported by one paw.

I wonder what papillary pattern, found on the fingertips of koalas, is very similar to human fingerprints, even an electron microscope would have difficulty detecting the differences.

The size of koalas is very diverse. For example, a female living in the north can weigh 5 kilograms, and a male living in the south can weigh 14 kilograms.

The photo shows a koala eating eucalyptus leaves.

Koalas eat only the bark and leaves of eucalyptus trees. There are more than 800 species of these trees in the world, but these animals only eat the bark and leaves of 120 of them. Interestingly, these trees are poisonous to most animals. Due to its unique digestive system colas eat them without tragic consequences. But the furry animals try to choose eucalyptus trees growing on fertile soils along river banks. The leaves and branches of such trees contain less poison. Eucalyptus trees growing on poor, dry soils contain more toxic substances.

The daily diet of this animal is 500–1100 g of food. At the same time, they mainly feed on softer and juicier young leaves. Koalas hardly drink water, since eucalyptus leaves contain more than 90% of the liquid they need. Animals drink water only when they lack moisture in the leaves or are sick.

The koala is almost motionless 18–20 hours a day. At this time, she clasps branches with her paws, sleeps or moves along the trunk in search of food, or chews leaves, which she puts in the inside of her cheeks during feeding.

She jumps from tree to tree mainly to find food or escape from danger. Another one unique ability This animal is that it can swim. Koalas are quite slow, this is due to their feeding habits, since the leaves contain little protein. In addition, koalas have a low metabolism, it is 2 times slower than that of other mammals.

Sometimes, to replenish the need for microelements, koalas eat soil.

Reproduction of koalas, birth of cubs

The breeding season for koalas is from October to February. At this time, they gather in groups that consist of several females and one adult male. The rest of the time, each female lives in her own territory and leads a solitary lifestyle.

Koalas are fairly quiet animals. Loud screams can only be heard during mating season. Eyewitnesses say that these sounds are similar to the grumbling of a pig, the creaking of door hinges and even the snoring of a drunken person. However, females really like these sounds, and they respond favorably to the calling sound of males.

Another unique one distinctive feature The difference between these marsupial cubs and other animals lies in the reproductive organs. The male has a forked penis, and the female has two vaginas. Thus, nature made sure that this species did not become extinct.

Pregnancy in koalas lasts 30–35 days. Most often, only one calf is born, which weighs 5.5 grams and has a height of 15–18 millimeters. Although there are also cases of two births. The baby stays in its mother’s pouch for six months, during which time it feeds on her milk. Over the next six months, he gets out of the pouch, tenaciously clings to the mother’s fur on her stomach and back, thereby “traveling” through her body.

For the next 30 weeks, he eats semi-liquid maternal excrement, consisting of a pulp of half-digested eucalyptus leaves. Here are microorganisms that are valuable for the baby and necessary for his digestive process. After a month, the cubs become independent, but are still with their mother until they are 2–3 years old.

IN puberty males enter at 3–4 years, and females at 2–3. They reproduce once every 1 or 2 years. Life expectancy is 11–12 years, although there may be exceptions; there are cases where koalas lived for 20 years.

In the wild, the marsupial has no enemies, most likely because its meat smells like eucalyptus. Animals are tamed quite quickly, they are condescending towards the person who takes them in their arms. But at the same time, we must not forget about the sharp claws of the animal, so you need to stroke it carefully.

A koala can be like a child; when the animal is left alone, it can cry and yearn. In the wild, drought, fires, and poachers are destroying these touching animals. Cutting down eucalyptus trees also contributes to their destruction.

There are many interesting facts you can tell about koalas. Here are ten of the most original ones.

Koalas can hold food in their stomachs for more than eight days

This animal feeds on eucalyptus leaves. To get more energy from this plant-based diet, the koala ferments some of what it eats. Fermentation occurs not in the stomach itself, but in the intestines. In the process, bacteria destroy the plant mixture, which results in the release nutrients, which are absorbed by the body. Despite this, koalas have a rather modest menu. These animals have developed a special digestive mechanism with a reduced metabolism, in addition, they have a relatively small brain size. This helps compensate for the lack of calories and nutrients in their diet.

Koalas only like thirty of the six hundred species of eucalyptus.

More than six hundred varieties of eucalyptus trees can be found in their habitats, but koalas only like to eat from about thirty of them. Animals usually choose those species that have a high protein content. Interestingly, koalas eat not only eucalyptus leaves, but also the foliage of other plants, such as acacia. However, they really prefer eucalyptus leaves to all others. They get most of the water they need from their food. Female koalas can only survive on it. This is truly amazing! Male koalas sometimes drink a little.

Koalas sleep twenty hours a day

If you thought that cats sleep the most, you were wrong! Cats sleep about sixteen hours a day, but koalas can nap for four hours more! The nature of this phenomenon is in a diet poor in nutrients. Koalas spend a minimum of energy, which leads to activity for a maximum of four hours, during which the animal feeds on foliage. The rest of the time is left for rest. Koalas don't usually go to sleep at any time. specific place- most feed and rest on the same tree. That's why it's so easy to photograph them, because they sit in the same place for hours and hardly move.

Koalas only communicate for fifteen minutes a day

Sometimes communication takes so much energy! Koalas don't really spend it on things like social activity. At the same time, they do not have problems with neighbors - there are usually always permanent residents in one area, as well as those who wander from territory to territory. Despite their cute appearance, koalas can fight fiercely for the right to breed within their borders. At the same time, the animals make strange sounds. Mother koalas are particularly harsh.

The secretions from the gland on the koala's chest contain more than forty chemical elements.

Koalas practically do not communicate in real time, but they are able to leave information to each other using smells. When a male koala finds a new tree, he sniffs the bark to see if there are any marks left by other males. Then he climbs up and rubs his chest against the tree to mark it with secretions from a special gland. The composition of the secretion is complex and includes forty various elements, each of which has a specific meaning and serves to convey information. Some males also mark the tree with urine.

Koalas are born within a month after conception.

For some reason, many people believe that koalas are a type of bear. In fact, they are marsupials. Like kangaroos, they quickly give birth to babies, which continue their development in the mother's pouch. The cub is born blind and hairless. The mother's bursa protects the baby as it develops for the next six to seven months. The pouch also contains nipples - the cubs feed on milk. Unusually, before the cub leaves the pouch completely, the mother weans it off the dairy diet by feeding it a fermented plant mixture.

Koalas were discovered in 1798

Animals have lived in Australia for thousands of years. Aboriginal culture has preserved many myths and legends about these creatures. Due to their slowness and habit of staying in one tree all day, constantly sleeping, koalas were an easy source of food. But the tribes did not exterminate koalas - there were many of them throughout the continent. Europeans first described animals in 1798. Initially, it was believed that koalas were bears, but then scientists determined that they were marsupials.

Animals similar to koalas existed twenty-five million years ago

The koalas we know are herbivores Adapted to a nutrient-reduced diet. Koalas get water from the leaves they eat and do not lead very active lives. Scientists have discovered that their ancestors may have looked slightly different. Twenty-five million years ago, the climate of Australia was not so dry and the way of life of animals was different. As the climate changed, so did the eucalyptus trees, and so did the koalas.

Koalas became extinct in southern Australia in 1924

Europeans were not as kind to animals as the Aborigines. Koalas were considered a source of fur, and millions of animals were destroyed by the thirties. They are incredibly easy to hunt, which increased the losses. In 1919, a million koalas were killed during the six-month hunting season! The number shocked people, and the animals were given protected status. But no one protects the eucalyptus trees! Therefore, the main threat to koalas is now the disappearance of their habitat, which is due to environmental problems.

Koalas have two thumbs

Koalas are adapted to live in trees. They have two opposite toes on their paws that help them hold on, and the other three are located in the center. Of course, these fingers literally cannot be called big, but in essence they are very similar to them. Each of the five toes has claws, making the paw look a bit like human hand. Koalas have a muscular body with longer forelimbs, which helps them climb. The muscles in the lower body are different in structure from the muscles of other animals. They are located proportionally lower on the body and are designed to allow koalas to better fix their position on the trunk when climbing a tree. Thanks to this, animals do not fall from heights even when sleeping.

Woody animal koala is considered the personification of the entire continent - Australia, is found only on this continent and is closely associated with it. It has extremely interesting features appearance and behavior. This is a medium-sized, dense creature, about 70 cm tall, resembling a small bear in appearance.

The weight of even impressive males usually does not exceed 14 kg, but some females are much smaller and weigh only 5 kg. Like many endemics of their continent, koalas are marsupial mammals, that is, they have a special skin sac on their belly in which mothers carry their cubs to term.

The body of such animals is covered with soft, thick fur, the length of a hair being about 2 cm or a little more. Its shade can be very diverse and depends on the habitat. On the back it is always darker: red, red or smoky gray. But the tummy is usually lighter in color.

Koalas are distinguished by a flat muzzle, a large head, small eyes and mobile, furry, rounded ears. In addition, they have a tail that is hardly noticeable due to its small size.

A very important element of the appearance that these arboreal animals inherited from nature is their mobile paws with powerful, durable claws, which allow them to expertly climb trees. Koalas have developed prehensile limbs from the very beginning. early age, when the cubs, grabbing onto the mother’s back, do not get lost, thus following the route of movement as a single whole with her.

The structure of the fingers of both limbs is extremely remarkable. The front ones are equipped with a pair of grasping fingers, located separately from the others.

Only four toes on the hind legs are equipped with claws, unlike the thumb, which does not have such a sharp tip. Interestingly, like humans, all koala fingers are marked with individual pad patterns - fingerprints.

Now koala in Australia is considered pride and one of its symbols. But we also remember other times when European settlers were just settling in this continent. They were then extremely attracted by the rare beauty of the fur of such creatures. And by stated reason the population of animals, which were mercilessly hunted, was subjected to significant extermination and was driven out of the area habitual habitat.

Today, such animals are found mainly in the southern and eastern regions mainland. Moreover, according to scientists, modern descendants These representatives of the fauna of the continent have significantly degraded in comparison with their ancestors.

The volume of their brains also decreased, which had a very negative impact on their intelligence, moreover, even on their natural self-preservation skills. For example, modern koalas, accustomed to seek salvation from any trouble in the trees, during the hours of spontaneous fires, do not even realize that it is wiser under these circumstances to get off them and go on the run. Seeing the fire, they only tremble and huddle close to the trunks of eucalyptus trees, among which koalas live, for some reason looking for salvation in them.

Kinds

The lifespan of koalas on Earth, as a family of ancient marsupial bears, according to scientists, is estimated at 30 million years. But in those distant times that have sunk into oblivion, its representatives looked somewhat different.

And many of them could boast sizes that exceeded the size of modern animals from this family by a couple of dozen times. All this is proven by the fossil remains of these creatures. There were especially many such finds in the southern regions of Australia.

Also, a lot of this kind of fossils were found in Queensland, one of the states of the continent. Koalas still live in this area of ​​the planet: they weigh no more than 9 kg and are gray in color. But in the state of Victoria, modern animals of this type are found larger. And they have predominantly chocolate-colored fur.

It should be noted that, regardless of the size of these animals living in a particular area, males differ significantly in size from females, more specifically, they are almost twice as long in body length and in weight.

The koala in the form in which it now exists on the planet appeared only 15 million years ago. She is considered a relative of the wombat. This is also a very ancient Australian inhabitant, animal, koala-like on many grounds. It's in modern form also resembles a small bear, although it is still somewhat larger than the described animal.

Today, the koala is considered the only representative of the koala family and is ranked among species of the same name, which is also called: marsupial bear. Although purely biologically and genetically, such animals are not related to bears at all. Koala in the photo perfectly demonstrates all the funny and very cute external features these animals.

Lifestyle and habitat

These are inhabitants of eucalyptus forests. Among the thickets of such trees, moving along their trunks, branches and crowns, such creatures spend all the days of their existence, from the first to the last. Koalas are also quite capable of moving on the ground, although not very well. They go down only if there is a desire to move to another tree in a similar way.

These animals usually rest during the day, so given time days can be observed among the branches of eucalyptus only sleeping koala. But even during waking hours they are not particularly active. These creatures are very lazy; it is believed that they spend up to twenty hours a day in a motionless state.

The only thing they can do deftly, quickly and skillfully is climb trees, masterfully jumping from one branch to another. On the tops of eucalyptus trees they usually escape from ill-wishers. These animals are also capable of swimming well.

Koalas do not have a great desire to communicate with their own kind. The only exceptions are during breeding periods, when they are forced, by the call of nature, to look for a partner. However, at other times there are some differences in the behavior of the different sexes.

Females prefer to settle only on certain territory, usually without leaving their pre-selected areas. There they exist peacefully, not reacting much to what is happening around them, busy only with long sleep and caring about filling their stomach.

Males are not particularly attached to their territories. And sometimes a craving for short-distance travel awakens in them. And when they meet each other, they not only do not experience much joy, but are also capable of starting a fight. Such showdowns are even more relevant during the period mating games. And at such a time, for bullies, these fights can become more than harmless.

But such creatures do not pose a danger to people, so they are kept without special precautions in some zoos. After all, for visitors koala – this is a bear small in size, an animal with a cute, funny appearance, which greatly attracts their attention. There is almost no need to guard such inhabitants in cages due to the lack of a natural desire for active movement.

There is a known case when one marsupial bear named Mundu tried to escape from the San Diego Zoo, but was not particularly successful in his quest for freedom. The fact is that the koala, rushing into an unknown world, fell asleep on the way. Thus, the adventurer did not cause excessive trouble to the zoo workers.

Nutrition

Such animals can eat almost only one plant in the world - eucalyptus. They eat its shoots and leaves. But this representative of the flora contains insufficient protein, but in excess it is full of harmful, even toxic substances and elements.

And there are so many of the latter components that their dose is quite capable of exceeding the permissible limit, leading to death. It should be noted that many of the animal species would definitely not be able to survive on such a diet. But how can koalas not get poisoned with such a diet?

The secret is that they choose only certain types of their favorite eucalyptus trees as food. And this is not an easy task at all. Distinguish poisonous plant Among others, koalas are helped by their highly developed sense of smell.

For this reason, contain pet koala, even despite the peaceful, sedentary nature of this animal and very pretty appearance, it is quite difficult. Of the eight hundred varieties of eucalyptus trees, they are able to feed on less than a sixth of them without harming their own body.

But in captivity, such choice is significantly reduced. The owners, being human, do not have sufficiently developed senses and knowledge to provide their pets with nutritious food. Therefore, koalas, forced from hunger to eat anything, are often poisoned to death.

The slowness of these animals should also be explained by their feeding habits. As already mentioned, their diet does not contain enough protein. Hence the very slow metabolism due to the low nutritional value of the foods consumed.

This animal requires about a kilogram of eucalyptus leaves per day, which it carefully crushes with its teeth, which in all respects are adapted specifically for this type of food. The koala also obtains the moisture required for the body from its favorite plant, as well as the dew that forms on it.

Reproduction and lifespan

Fully mature for procreation koala usually by age three. At the same time, females, by all characteristics, are formed somewhat earlier than males. But the first full-fledged mating for such animals usually occurs only at the age of four.

As is already known, these creatures do not have close communication with each other during normal periods. Therefore, when the time for breeding approaches (this comes once a year), the males begin this process with calling calls.

These sounds, which travel far throughout the area, are not only intended to serve as signals that attract females who live in the neighborhood. It is assumed that these screams should scare off other applicants.

If intercourse is successful, pregnancy occurs, and koala mothers do not carry their cubs for long, only about 35 days. The females of these creatures cannot be called particularly fertile. The litter usually consists of one newborn marsupial bear. But in some cases, twins may be born.

Feature marsupial mammals is, as is known, the birth of underdeveloped cubs, which are then carried to term by females in a skin pouch on the abdomen. Newborn koalas weigh only half a gram and are less than 2 cm long.

But such a state does not indicate non-viability. Such babies are quite lively and immediately after birth they climb into the mother’s skin pocket. There they continue their development, feeding, as befits a mammal, mother’s milk.

At the age of six months, the little successors of the koala family begin to gradually switch to adult nutrition, that is, to a eucalyptus diet. To begin with, the mother herself chews the leaves and shoots, feeding them such a light diet, generously flavored with her saliva, endowed with disinfectant properties. It helps gradual development normal digestion in babies.

Then the offspring finally leaves the pouch. This happens around seven months of age. For some time the cub still lives directly on the mother. He exists behind her, clinging to her back with his claws. By the age of one year, the offspring practically becomes independent, but tries to stay close to the mother for another couple of months, just in case.

Koalas in captivity proper nutrition able to live up to 18 years of age. But in natural conditions this rarely happens. In fact, in nature such animals do not have many enemies. Usually, no one attacks them except wild dogs and people.

But these creatures have extremely weak, painful organisms, and therefore, without veterinary supervision and special treatment, they often die prematurely. Under normal conditions, when living in wild eucalyptus forests, the lifespan of koalas can usually be no more than 13 years.