What do baby koalas eat? A teddy bear from Australia or where the koala lives

The koala resembles a cute teddy bear, but this animal has nothing to do with bears. It seems friendly in appearance, but if attacked, it will be able to defend itself with sharp claws.

Koalas live in the eucalyptus forests of Australia on east coast, not higher than 600 meters above sea level. This marsupial mammal eats almost nothing except a few types of eucalyptus leaves. The body length of males is 86 cm, weight is 12 kg. Females have a mass of 8 kg and a length of 76 cm. The color, as you can see in the photo of the koala, is from gray to reddish, with a white spot on the chest, armpits and chin.

The koala is not very active; its food is low in calories and of low quality. He spends his entire life in trees, sleeping about 18 hours a day, and eating the rest of the time. He grinds young leaves into a mushy mass with his powerful teeth. An adult animal eats up to 800 g of leaves per day. The koala liver is special; it is able to neutralize the poison contained in some leaves.

From October to February at night from different corners strange sounds are heard in the forest. It is the beginning of the breeding season and these sounds are the calls of males. Each male mates with several koalas and is constantly on the move, visiting his females and driving rivals out of his territory.

In the middle of summer, the koala gives birth to one baby and, like all marsupials, it climbs into her pouch and remains in it for about six months. The cub feeds on partially digested food from the mother, which has already passed through the body. Such food is easier to digest and also performs important function: transfers beneficial microbes from the mother's intestines. These bacteria are beneficial, they multiply in the body and help the little koala digest tough eucalyptus leaves. After leaving the pouch, the cub rides on its mother’s back for several months.

The lifespan of a koala is 13 years, in captivity it is 18.

Now koalas live only in Australia - and not everywhere, but only in the southeastern part of the continent. Outwardly, they resemble small bear cubs: sedentary with thick short hair of a smoky gray or reddish color, small round, blind eyes, a flattened oval nose, a short tail and large, widely spaced ears with long hair at the edges.

Nowadays, koalas are one of the symbols of Australia, but once upon a time European settlers quickly pushed them out of Australia and at the same time almost destroyed them because of the rare beauty of their soft coat with three-centimeter fur. But these animals appeared on the mainland more than 30 million years ago, and according to the beliefs of the local aborigines, they were also once people.

How the animal appeared: the Aboriginal version

The ancient legends of the local aborigines tell about an orphan boy, Kub-Bor (Marsupial Bear), who, although raised by his closest relatives, did not like him very much, and therefore was constantly offended. The boy was taught to survive in the forest and get food. Therefore, he had no problems with food, but with water it was difficult, since Kur-Bor was constantly thirsty.

When one day all the adults went to hunt and gather food, forgetting to hide the buckets of water, a child saw them and gradually drank all the contents, leaving the tribe without water. After that, he climbed onto the eucalyptus and began to monotonously sing a song, from which the tree, on the top of which he was sitting, began to grow extremely quickly, and by evening it turned out to be the largest in the entire forest. And then the Daens (aboriginals) returned.

They found no water, but found a child hidden in a huge eucalyptus tree. At first they could not reach Kur-Bora, because the branches of the huge tree were extremely high. But then two of them managed to climb the tree. The boy was grabbed by them, beaten right at the top of the tree, and thrown down.

Naturally, Kur-Bor crashed to his death. But when the natives approached him, they saw that the boy gradually began to turn into a koala. Having completed the transformation, the animal came to life, rushed to the eucalyptus tree and climbed up.

The last words the Daen heard from the koala were that if he and others like him were killed in order to eat, they would only need to cook him whole. If anyone disobeys, its spirit will come out of the carcass of a killed animal and severely punish the offenders - such a drought will come that neither people nor animals will be able to survive it. Only koalas will survive, for which the moisture contained in eucalyptus leaves will be sufficient.

The koalas themselves, according to the beliefs of the aborigines, have not drunk water since then. Their ancestor, being a man, drank plenty of it. This belief arose for one simple reason: almost no one had ever seen these animals at a watering hole before.

Scientists' version

It is believed that the koala family appeared more than 30 million years ago, and consisted of at least eighteen species (some of which were thirty times larger than koalas). As for “modern” animals, they are much younger. Their age is only 15 million years.

Europeans discovered this animal at the beginning of the 19th century. These were the remains of a koala found among the natives. Officer Barralier discovered them, preserved them in alcohol and sent them to the Governor of New South Wales. And a year later, the animal itself was caught near Sydney.

At first, koalas were found only in the southeast of Australia, as well as in the south of the continent (but they were quickly exterminated there at the beginning of the 20th century in pursuit of profit). It is believed that these animals also lived in the west of the continent, as evidenced by the remains found there.

Characteristics of the species

Scientists still have not been able to clearly determine what species of animal the animal living in Australia belongs to. At first they thought it was a panda or a bear, then they decided that its relative was a wombat, a kangaroo or an opossum (all of them, like the koala, are herbivorous marsupials). But if the relationship does exist, then researchers have not yet been able to trace their roots.

Features of the animal

The koala itself is not a large animal. The weight of a large male from the southern part of the continent is about fifteen kilograms, a female from the north is ten kilograms less. The average length of an adult koala is about eighty centimeters.

The marsupial sleeps in trees approximately twenty hours a day. It is active at night, climbing the tops in search of leaves. During the day, even if the animal is awake, it sits motionless or sleeps, hugging the eucalyptus with its paws.

The animal has interesting characteristics, distinguishing it from other animals, because of which it was classified as a separate species.

Paws

The koala's paws are ideal for climbing trees and allow an adult to easily grab tree branches and a baby to hold on to its mother's back. The animal sleeps only on the eucalyptus, tightly grasping the tree with its paws:

• The koala has two grasping fingers on its front paws, located slightly apart from the rest;
• The other three fingers are located along the hand;
• All fingers on the forelimbs have extremely strong claws;
• The big toe on the koala's foot does not have a claw (unlike the other four).
• All of the koala's fingers have fingerprints that are extremely human-like.

Teeth

The animal's teeth are designed to chew grass. That’s why their incisors are like razors and can quickly cut leaves. The remaining teeth are grinding, separated from the incisors by a wide gap.

Intelligence and acumen

Alas, modern koalas are stupid. If the brain of their ancestors completely filled the cranial cavity, then in the animals that have survived to this day, it is much smaller. According to one theory, this happened due to the fact that koalas feed mainly only on eucalyptus leaves and shoots, which contain an extremely low level of energy.

Therefore, the brain of modern koalas makes up only 1.2% of their total weight, and forty percent of the cranial cavity is filled with cerebrospinal fluid. Lack of intelligence negatively affects the lives of the animals themselves. For example, accustomed to seeking salvation in trees, they do not always consider it necessary to get down from them and escape from a fire. Instead, they only press closer to the eucalyptus trees.

Character

The koala is an extremely calm animal. He sleeps from 18 to 20 hours a day, the rest of the time he devotes to eating. The koala lives in a tree, and mainly descends to the ground only to move to another eucalyptus tree, which it is not able to jump to in the air.

They jump from eucalyptus to eucalyptus extremely easily and confidently. If they decide to flee, they are even able to break into a fairly brisk gallop in order to climb the nearest tree.

Nutrition

As for the slowness of the koala not in emergency conditions, this is primarily due to its diet. It feeds only on shoots and leaves of the eucalyptus tree. The koala's metabolism is two times slower than that of other mammals (except wombats and sloths) - this feature compensates for the insufficient nutritional value of eucalyptus leaves.

The question of why koalas prefer eucalyptus leaves puzzles many. Because eucalyptus leaves are not only fibrous and low in protein, but they also contain phenolic and terpene compounds and even hydrocyanic acid, which are extremely poisonous to almost all living organisms.

As for koalas, then deadly poisons, what from intestinal tract enter the blood and are completely neutralized by the liver. The animals have a very long cecum - almost two and a half meters (in humans - no more than eight centimeters). It is in it that it is digested poisonous food. In the intestines of koalas there are many bacteria that process leaves into compounds digestible for the koala.

The animal eats about one kilogram of leaves per day, crushing and chewing them very carefully. And what’s interesting is that the resulting mass is stored in the cheek pouches.

Koalas do not eat leaves from every tree: their extremely good sense of smell allows them to choose only those plants with fewer toxic compounds. Therefore, out of eight hundred species of eucalyptus, koalas eat only one hundred and twenty. And then, when their nose tells them that the food has become too poisonous, they go to look for another eucalyptus suitable for themselves (if the koalas did not have the opportunity to change the tree in time, they often became victims of poisoning).

They give preference to trees that grow on fertile soil - they are less poisonous. To make up for the deficiency minerals in the body, animals sometimes eat soil.

Eucalyptus leaves are also a source of moisture for the koala. They drink water mainly during droughts or when they are sick. In Australia in Lately More and more often, these animals are found near their pools when they come to drink water.

Temperature

Koalas have no layer subcutaneous fat, able to protect them from the cold. Firstly, if the temperature is too low, their fur helps them out (their fur is water-repellent), and secondly, in order to retain heat, their blood circulation, like that of humans, slows down.

Communication

Koalas are considered almost the most defenseless and harmless animals in the world. They don’t attack anyone and have absolutely no idea how to defend themselves. If you hurt them, at best they will run away; most likely they will not hit or bite back.

But this animal can cry. And he can cry as long as the pain causes him inconvenience. And the koala cries like a child - loudly, tremblingly and hysterically. The same sound can also symbolize the presence of danger.

Koalas are surprisingly silent. Since they live quite far from each other, they use a fairly wide range of sounds to communicate with their own kind.

Males, in order to show their social and physical position, grunt in a peculiar way, and thus find out which of them is cooler (they are not going to waste strength and energy on fights, and if this happens, it is quite rare). Females scream much less often, but sometimes they are able to express aggression by roaring and grunting, and also use this sound to express sexual behavior. But mothers and their cubs do not roar - they make quiet, quiet sounds, reminiscent of clicking (to “talk to each other”) or grumbling (if they are dissatisfied or irritated with something).

Cries during mating season

When the mating season begins, the males make a calling sound so loud that it can be heard a kilometer away. Interestingly, this sound is extremely loud and at the same time at a low frequency, which is not typical for small animals the size of a koala. They manage to produce it only with the help of the vocal cords that are located behind the larynx.

The female chooses a groom for herself based on these calling calls (in any case, preference is given to larger individuals). Despite the fact that the male’s songs remind us of the snoring of a drunkard, the angry grumbling of a pig or the creaking of rusty hinges, females extremely like such sounds and attract them.

The better the koala screams, the more brides he will gather, since there are significantly more females than males. In one season, one male can have about five wives.

Offspring

Koalas breed once every one to two years. Females start a family at the age of two, males at the age of three to four years.

The mother carries the baby for thirty to thirty-five days. Usually only one baby is born; twins are extremely rare. The length of a small koala is from 15 to 18 mm, weight is about five grams, while it is hairless and completely blind. Immediately after birth, the baby climbs into the mother's pouch, where he spends the next six months. To prevent the baby from getting hurt and falling out, the “entrance” to the pouch is located not at the top, like in a kangaroo, but at the bottom.

At first he feeds on mother's milk. She gets used to it gradually, and the transitional food is quite original: the mother regularly excretes special feces in the form of a liquid porridge from semi-digested eucalyptus leaves. The baby needs such food because it is the only opportunity to get the microflora he needs, since bacteria live in the mother’s intestines that help the body cope with food that is indigestible for the baby’s stomach.

True, this diet does not last long; after a month he begins to feed on the leaves themselves, and at the age of seven months he moves from the pouch to his mother’s back. The grown koala finally leaves its mother's embrace at one year. But not all of them leave: while young females go to look for sites for themselves, males quite often remain to live with their mother for up to three years.

Dangers

Typically, a koala lives from eight to thirteen years (although in captivity there have been cases where animals lived to be twenty). Their number for some time (until the Australian authorities began to solve this problem) was declining very quickly. If at the beginning of the 20th century the number of koalas was 10 million individuals, then after a hundred there were only 100 thousand left, most of which live in private territories. IN wildlife According to various sources, their population ranges from 2 to 8 thousand.

In nature, koalas have practically no enemies - apparently, the animal, imbued with the eucalyptus aroma, scares away enemies with its smell. Only people eat them, and wild dingoes can attack animals, but that too a rare event, because koalas rarely go down, and dogs do not jump in trees.

Just recently, these animals were on the verge of extinction. The main reason is both human activity and their extreme susceptibility to various diseases.

Diseases

Koalas are quite sickly animals - apparently, the monotonous diet affects them. They are especially susceptible to cystitis, periostitis of the skull, and conjunctivitis. Sinusitis often causes pneumonia in them, which greatly reduced the population at the beginning of the last century.

The animals are also killed by the viral bacteria Chlamydia Psittaci, which is secretly considered to be the “AIDS” of koalas. They affect the ureter and eyes of animals, and if they are not helped in time, the disease will first lead to infertility, then to vision problems, and ultimately to death.

Fur traders

Even before the beginning of the 20th century, a huge number of koalas (more than one million) were destroyed by fur traders, after which there were almost no animals left. And only then (in 1927) the Australian government banned the trade in koala fur, and three years later – the import of their skins. This led to the end of the barbaric extermination of koalas, and their population began to gradually increase.

Deforestation

Due to continuous deforestation, koalas are forced to constantly go in search of new trees, so they have to go down. But they are not accustomed to life on earth, since they move here with difficulty, so they become easy prey.

Cars

Due to deforestation, koalas are increasingly finding themselves on highways in search of a new home. Cars rushing at high speed frighten them extremely, the animals become numb (the so-called “koala syndrome” - males are especially susceptible to it) and stop moving or begin to rush along the road. According to statistics, about 200 koalas end up under the wheels of cars every month - and, unfortunately, many of them die.

At the same time, the authorities are trying to solve this problem quite in an interesting way: artificial vines are stretched over the route, which connect the eucalyptus trees on both sides of the route. The koalas appreciated this idea and willingly cross the highway.

Dogs

Once on the ground and seeing a wild dingo, the koala does not understand the danger and does not run away into a tree. As a result, she often ends up torn to pieces.

Fires

The trees where koalas love to live contain eucalyptus oil, thanks to which fires flare up extremely strongly and cannot be extinguished for a long time. The fire has completely destroyed more than one koala population.

Swimming pools

Many people will be surprised to learn how many koalas die after getting into the pool. Contrary to the popular belief that they drink absolutely nothing, they still come to water, but often not to the source, but to a structure created by human hands, which does not have the usual descents for animals. Despite the fact that they are excellent swimmers, koalas often drown when exhausted.

Drought

Due to drought, eucalyptus leaves turn black and dry out, so koalas deprived of water often die of thirst, especially those who live far from artificial or natural sources water.

Animal rescue

If it were for the inactive activities of animal activists, we would only know about the koala from schematic drawings in their textbooks. They managed not only to push through several laws to protect these animals, but also to win over patrons who are willing to donate money to save the “teddy bears.”

In Australia, parks and reserves were created, special hospitals for these animals were organized with the latest equipment and highly qualified veterinarians. This is not much, but it helps - about 4 thousand animals are saved per year. About twenty percent of animals that fall into the hands of doctors survive.

Life in captivity

As already mentioned, most koalas live on private property, the owners of which have nothing against such a neighborhood. People are often captivated by the appearance of these cute fluffy animals that look like teddy bears, and they tame them. Koalas, although they like to be alone, are extremely friendly. They become attached very quickly, and if the person they are accustomed to leaves somewhere, the animal cries. If you pester them too much, koalas can begin to defend themselves with their teeth and nails.

Keeping a koala at home is not easy - those who want to have this animal will be required to provide it with at least one kilogram of fresh eucalyptus leaves per day, which is quite difficult. For example, in Russia these trees grow only in Sochi, but this type of eucalyptus is absolutely not suitable for koalas.

The koala is a herbivorous marsupial that moves along tree branches. Their habitat is the Australian continent. Sometimes the koala is called a “marsupial bear,” although these animals have nothing in common with bears. The koala is the only species of animal in the Koala family.

Currently, there are about 100,000 individuals left. But this number is constantly decreasing according to the most various reasons. Therefore, they try to treat these animals as carefully as possible.

Scientific classification of koala

1. Kingdom: Animals.
2. Type: Chordata.
3. Subphylum: Vertebrates.
4. Class: Mammals.
5. Subclass: Marsupials.
6. Order: Two-incisor marsupials.
7. Family: Koalas.
8. Genus: Koalas.
9. Species: Koala.

Characteristics of the koala family.

All koalas, without exception, are quite small in size. Their average length is 70-73 cm. The weight of an adult koala is approximately 6-15 kg (depending on the amount of food consumed).

As already mentioned: the koala is the only species of this family. But previously the koala family included several more species. Unfortunately, all representatives except the koala have become extinct.

Koalas that are on this moment extinct, could reach a weight of more than half a ton. This is 50 times more than the weight of modern koalas!
The koala was first discovered in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Typically, koalas have a lifespan of approximately 14 years. But there are also long-livers who die at the age of 20.

The koala's muzzle has a slightly flattened shape, with small eyes and a rather large black nose. The body of these animals is covered almost everywhere with fur. It can have a variety of shades: gray, ashen, grayish, etc.

Koala nutrition and lifestyle

Eucalyptus forests are the main habitat of the koala. Literally all their lives they are in the thickets of these trees.

In the first half of the day, koalas sleep (conveniently located in the trees), and at night they move through the trees in search of food. When a koala is awake, he can just sit for hours on end and not even move. This activity takes him more than half of his life. These “bears” are motionless for more than 15 hours a day!

Koalas practically do not move on the ground. The only exception is when moving from one tree to another, when it is impossible to jump over.

Despite some clumsiness of these animals, they jump surprisingly deftly and successfully. In case of danger, they can even go into a gallop. Plus, koalas can swim quite well.

The koala's feeding habits are directly related to its slow lifestyle. Since they feed exclusively on eucalyptus leaves and shoots, which contain very little protein, they cannot live more active image life.

For most animals, eucalyptus leaves are real poison. But for " marsupial bears"is an integral part of the diet.

The koala has very few competitors for such food. The exception is: marsupial flying squirrel and the ring-tailed glider.

The koala also has a very highly developed sense of smell. It is because of this that they choose the least poisonous leaves for their food. This is noticeable by what types of eucalyptus they feed on.

Koalas almost never drink water. They get all the moisture they need from eucalyptus leaves. But sometimes: when koalas are sick or when there is a time of prolonged drought, they still drink water.

Sometimes these animals can even eat soil. This is due to the fact that animals lack minerals in their bodies.

Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) - a small mammal that lives eucalyptus forests southeastern Australia. Despite external resemblance with the bear, in fact, koalas are marsupials. Today, koalas are among Australia's most revered mammal species, contributing to a thriving population. But this was not always the case; with the advent of the first European settlers, more than a million animals were exterminated for the sake of beautiful fur skins. The koala is a unique animal that feeds exclusively on eucalyptus leaves. The metabolism in the koala's body is noticeably slower than that of a number of mammals, which allows it to compensate for the lack of nutrients.

Appearance

Big round face, smooth black nose and large ears give koalas the appearance of a small bear, making them one of the most charismatic marsupials in the world. The koala has thick, soft, gray or taupe fur that is lighter in the front and mottled in the back. Due to the fact that koalas spend almost their entire lives in trees, they have developed a number of adaptations adapted to the arboreal lifestyle, including short, powerful legs armed with sharp claws. The presence on the front paws of two fingers extended to the side and three ordinary fingers opposed to each other allows koalas to squeeze the tree trunk into a strong lock. Hind legs have one missing claw thumb and four ordinary ones, two of which (index and middle) are partially fused together.

Male koalas are larger than females, with a wider face. Males have a scent gland on their chest, which allows them to mark trees within their territory. Like other marsupials, the female koala has a pouch designed for feeding her offspring, as well as storing food supplies.

Body size and weight vary depending on the range of the animal's habitat. Koalas living in southern Australia are larger than representatives of the northern regions of the country. The average size the male in the north is 70.5 cm in length, weight - 6.5 kg, the female's body length is 68.7 cm, weight - 5.1 kg. Southern males have average length body 78.2 cm, weighing 12 kg, and females - 71.6 cm, weight - 8.5 kg.

Reproduction

Female koalas become sexually mature at the age of two, and males at three years, but, as a rule, they begin to mate at four, when they are able to compete for females. During the breeding season, males make loud noises to attract females and scare away rivals, which spread across the forest for several kilometers. Mating takes place once a year, the female koala's estrus lasts 27-30 days, and pregnancy lasts 30-35 days. Litters usually consist of one cub, but there are cases of twins being born. The weight of the cubs is only 0.5 grams, and the length is 1.5-1.8 centimeters. Despite their small size, they are quite well developed and themselves climb into the mother’s pouch, where they will continue their development, feeding on milk for up to 6-7 months. At about six months of age, the mother begins to prepare her cub for a eucalyptus diet. She gives him a paste of partially digested leaves that contain a large number of bacteria necessary for normal functioning digestive system. Upon reaching 7 months, the cub leaves the pouch and settles on the mother’s back. One-year-old koalas are already completely independent and do not depend on their mother, but can continue to live next to her for several more months. Life expectancy is 13-18 years, in captivity up to 20 years.

Behavior

Koalas are mostly sedentary and night look life. They are slow and sleep up to 18 hours a day. Koalas spend almost all their time in trees, coming down to the ground only to move to another tree or lick the soil and gravel, which improve digestion. Koalas are primarily solitary animals and outside the breeding season social behavior unlikely. However, small harems led by one male do occur.

Nutrition

Koalas are herbivores and feed exclusively on eucalyptus leaves. Despite the presence of about 600 different species of eucalyptus, koalas eat 30, which contain fewer toxins and more protein. Eucalyptus leaves are tough, fibrous and often toxic, making them inedible to other herbivores, but koalas fill this gap in the ecosystem.

Threats

Koala numbers hit a low point in the 1930s due to barbaric hunting for their fur. After the ban on hunting, the population as a whole has recovered and is in a fairly stable position. Today, koalas are listed by the IUCN ( international union Nature Conservation) as an animal of least concern. However, there are many threats that could lead to a reduction in their numbers. Such threats include land clearing and urbanization, which lead to habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation. They are also at risk from fires, drought, disease, road collisions and dog attacks. Recently there has been a lot of media attention to the problem of defoliation of eucalyptus trees in some isolated areas and it is assumed that koalas are the cause of this phenomenon. As a result, there are often calls to reduce populations by shooting animals in these areas. Koala guilt is a controversial issue among scientists and authorities, and there is reason to believe that there are other factors that cause eucalyptus leaf loss.

Global climate change may pose an additional threat to koalas. Rising temperatures are predicted to increase carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, which will speed up plant growth. Subsequently, the amount of protein in plants will decrease, and the tannin content will increase. As carbon dioxide rises, koalas will need to adapt to lower nutritional value eucalyptus leaves and more tannin. Koalas may respond by migrating in search of the most nutritious leaves, but this will put themselves at risk of being predated by predators or being hit by a car.

Climate change is also likely to lead to an increase in the frequency of droughts and fires, due to reduced precipitation, increased evaporation rates and an overall rise in temperature of at least 1 degree Celsius by 2030. The slowness and monotony of their diet makes koalas extremely vulnerable to drought and forest fires.

The koala is a famous marsupial herbivore that lives in the eastern and south coast Australia. This family itself is ancient; for about 30 million years it was very diverse, numbering more than 15 species. It is likely that tree kangaroos, and koalas shared a common ancestor.

When James Cook discovered Australia, he did not notice this amazing animal. Koalas were first mentioned in traveler reports in 1798. But scientific description the animal was only made in 1802. On next year The koala was caught and studied in detail.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, the gullible animal became the target of mass extermination because of its fur. The Australian government was forced to ban koala hunting and begin restoring the population. Today, these cute, harmless animals are the decoration of any zoo.

Despite all the public attention to them, the animal’s gentle disposition hides a lot of interesting things. And the image of a koala is largely composed of myths, which we will try to debunk.

The koala is a relative of the bear. The name of the koala genus itself, Phascolarctos, comes from the addition of Greek words that literally mean “bear with a bag.” English-speaking residents of Australia nicknamed the harmless animals bears for their external resemblance to representatives of this family. People simply didn’t notice the bag. Even today, the phrase “koala bear” is commonly used throughout the world. But the closest relatives of this mammal are wombats. Koalas are part of a group of marsupials native to Australia and New Guinea.

The koala is a lazy, sedentary animal. The usual state of a koala is half-asleep sitting on a tree. This is how the animal manifests itself during the day in front of a person. It spends 16-18 hours a day in this state. But at night the animal transforms. It begins to climb trees in search of food, and can descend to move to new branches. Koalas can even quite deftly jump from tree to tree, and they can swim. At the moment of danger, these marsupials can gallop at speeds of 40 km/h. Once, Australians even filmed a video of a koala chasing an ATV, eventually clinging to the wheel. In general, a sedentary lifestyle is determined by dietary habits - there is very little protein in eucalyptus leaves.

The koala practically does not drink water. This myth comes from the name of the animal. In the Darak language it sounds like “gula”. The word probably literally means “does not drink.” It seems that the aborigines also noticed the koala's adherence to a dry diet. In fact, the animal needs moisture, but it gets most of it from the succulent leaves of eucalyptus and from dew drops. And in times of drought or illness, a koala can even go down to a stream and drink water from there. It is known that males require more water, while females sometimes have enough moisture from leaves alone.

Koala is a harmless creature. In appearance, the koala resembles a large teddy bear, absolutely harmless. Under normal conditions, this marsupial is really not aggressive. But when the mating season comes, the males start real fights for the sake of their chosen ones. The case may even result in serious injuries. If there is a person next to an angry koala, then he may not be happy either. Marsupials can cause serious injury to each other.

Koala is a silent animal. Few people manage to hear a koala. But these marsupials are able to communicate with their fellows. The sounds resemble snoring or burping. Mothers communicate with their young with soft clicking sounds or grunts. Also, the cute animal is capable of emitting monstrous moans, something between the sounds of a circular saw and a cat's cry. The Australians attributed these sounds to some kind of forest spirit, unable to believe that they were being made by a cute koala. During the mating season, male calls can be heard hundreds of meters away. In general, the koala prefers not to waste its limited energy on loud sounds.

The thick fur makes the koala feel uncomfortable. The koala's durable and thick fur allows it to feel comfortable during the unfavorable rainy season in July. The structure of wool is such that it does not allow water to pass through. Yes and hot Sun rays in January, the fur does not let through, creating a comfort zone for the owner.

Koalas sleep so much while intoxicated by eucalyptus leaves. Eucalyptus leaves are rich in poisonous phenols and terpenes. In the fall, they also contain hydrocyanic acid, which is lethal to most animals. But the powerful koala liver can neutralize these natural poisons. Eucalyptus leaves also have a narcotic effect. Koalas spend their entire lives as if “high.” But that’s not why they sleep a lot, but to restore energy. It is spent mainly on digesting food.

Koalas eat only eucalyptus leaves. The animal's menu is still not so monotonous. Koalas can also eat acacia, leptospermum and tea tree leaves. And not all types of eucalyptus are suitable for these marsupials - they choose those that have less poison. As a result, out of 800 plant species, koalas consume only 120, and according to other sources, even 30.

Koalas can be kept at home. This is prohibited in any country in the world, even in Australia. The only exceptions are zoo employees or scientists caring for orphaned or sick koalas. They receive special permission from the authorities, but are obliged to return the animals to natural conditions as soon as they recover. The unique physiology and diet of koalas requires special preparation from people.

All koalas smell like eucalyptus. Basically, koalas smell like they recently ate a cough drop containing eucalyptus extract. This smell is pleasant. But mature males usually emit a strong scent from their glands. This musky scent overpowers the scent of eucalyptus. And young koalas have not yet had time to smell their main food. Mothers teach their offspring to eat various types plants so you can balance your diet. The different leaves act as a natural insect repellent.

People no longer destroy koalas; this is strictly prohibited. Currently, koalas are protected by the state. Despite the fact that koalas were massacred in the 19th and 20th centuries, their population was restored. Today they are threatened only by fires, deforestation, and ticks brought from other countries. However, sometimes populations grow so large that it leads to depletion of the animals’ food supply. On Kangaroo Island in the 2000s, environmentalists even proposed shooting half of the koalas, but this decision was not accepted by the authorities for fear of worsening the image. And at the beginning of 2015, 686 koalas were killed by humans in the state of Victoria. So the authorities reduced the population, giving other animals the opportunity to eat normally. This news is terrifying, but this is the only way to save the bulk of koalas in the area.

There are several types of koalas. Science identifies one species of koala. However, the scientific community is trying to distinguish two or three subspecies (like human "races"). But there is no consensus on this matter, nor is there any such division in nature at all.

Koalas eat their own excrement. This myth is only partially true. The main food of adult animals is still leaves. We can talk about feeding on excrement in relation to baby koalas. For the first six months they drink their mother's milk, and then switch to feeding on their mother's excrement. During this period, her body stops completely digesting the leaves, resulting in a semi-finished pulp. Adult animals eat rough food, which is due to the bacterial environment that has developed in the intestines. Microorganisms help digest roughage. And young koalas receive the necessary microflora by eating partially digested leaves in their mother’s excrement.

Koalas are smart animals. During the process of evolution, most species improve their brains. But in the case of the koala, the opposite happened. In the animal's ancestors, the brain filled the skull completely. But due to special nutrition and lack of energy, 40% of the skull of a modern koala is filled with cerebrospinal fluid. The ratio of brain to body weight is only 1.2%. Of course, such low intelligence is reflected in animals. For example, in the event of a fire, koalas do not descend from the tree and do not run away, but simply press tightly against the trunk. And they cannot resist aggression.

Koalas have no natural enemies. In the trees, no one competes or quarrels with them. But on land, koalas can become victims of domestic dogs or dingoes. Stupid marsupials do not realize the danger and do not run away when they are torn to pieces. But the meat of these marsupials is not eaten by other animals because of the strong smell of eucalyptus. Today, scientists are increasingly sounding the alarm - a decrease in the number of eucalyptus trees causes stress, and its consequence is chlamydia. Koalas are generally considered sickly animals, which determines their monotonous diet. These animals often also suffer from cystitis, conjunctivitis, sinusitis, which turns into pneumonia.

Koalas can be bred in Russia. Keeping koalas in captivity is a difficult task, especially in our conditions. The fact is that every day this animal requires at least a kilogram of fresh eucalyptus leaves. In our country, such trees grow only in Sochi, and the domestic type of tree is not suitable for koalas as food.