What leaves do koalas eat? Koala - marsupial bear
The koala is a marsupial animal of the infraclass Marsupial family, family and genus Koala. Scientists still have not fully figured out what kind of animal the koala is: a bear, a raccoon, or something else. The koala, or Australian bear, is the only animal that eats only eucalyptus leaves.
What does a marsupial bear look like?
Few people have seen a koala live, but many have seen videos and photographs of this animal. A koala actually looks a bit like a bear cub. For example, a koala's tail is the same as a bear's - small, which is practically invisible on the body. However, it cannot be confused with any other living being.
The koala is a rather small animal: for example, the weight of a marsupial bear is from seven to twelve kilograms. Typically, a koala's fur is short but thick and gray in color. The animal has lighter fur on its abdomen. Koalas have small eyes, but large ears and nose. The claws on the paws are sharp and long. Marsupial bears need them in order to easily move through trees.
Koala habitats
The koala is a marsupial, and it lives, of course, in Australia, as well as on neighboring islands (except Tasmania). Marsupial bears choose places closer to the water, as they are located there rainforests – traditional place koala habitats Marsupial bears live in the south, east and slightly north of mainland Australia.
The photographer caught a rare moment when a koala decided to “get its throat wet” in a country pool. The koala lives in humid subtropical, tropical and subequatorial forests, where a lot of eucalyptus grows - the koala's only source of nutrition.
About the diet of marsupial bears
The koala eats only eucalyptus, despite the fact that this plant contains hydrocyanic acid, which is poisonous to animals. The fact is that this animal is less susceptible to its action. Moreover, nature even came up with a kind of protection for them: in different seasons of the year, koalas eat different types eucalyptus (at certain times these types of eucalyptus contain less hydrocyanic acid than others). However, sometimes a koala can still be poisoned by eucalyptus leaves.
Contrary to popular belief that koalas never drink, these animals, although not often, find sources of water and drink it.
Koala breeding
Koalas, which always live alone, gather in groups only during the breeding season. Most often, such a group consists of one male and two to five (and sometimes more) females. Koalas mate in trees. Koalas breed once a year or once every two years.
Pregnancy in marsupial bears lasts about a month. Usually only one baby is born, about 1.5 cm long and weighing no more than 6 g. Since the koala is a marsupial, the pouch is used for quite a long time when carrying a child - about six months. At 30 weeks, when the cub has grown a little, he can already eat the liquid excrement of his parents (this is necessary, since it contains the necessary substances for normal digestion). After some time, the koalas grow up completely and begin to live their own lives.
Features of koalas
What's so special about the marsupial bear? He has many interesting abilities and differences from other living beings.
The koala is endemic to Australia. In other words, the koala does not live except in Australia and neighboring islands, only in zoos. In addition, due to its ability to exclusively climb trees and feed on eucalyptus, marsupial bear slow and quite calm.
Another one interesting feature koalas - they give birth to very small cubs, having much larger size and body weight. It's amazing that eight-kilogram parents can give birth to children the size of a bean grain!
Enemies of koalas
The koala is an amazing animal: in nature they have no enemies! Why did this happen? There are several reasons for this.
Firstly, marsupial bears are found in Australia and live in trees, but on this continent there are no arboreal predators that can harm koalas. Secondly, the koala feeds exclusively on eucalyptus leaves, which are not harmful to the animal, but can be dangerous to other animals that want to eat the marsupial bear.
What are the benefits and harms of koalas?
The koala is a very good-natured creature that can both help and harm a person.
The main benefit of koalas is that many children, and sometimes adults, love them in zoos. Scientists often conduct experiments on these animals. Thanks to this, charming creatures are protected by law from shooting and poaching for their valuable fur.
Unfortunately, koalas can also harm people. When there are too many marsupial bears and they don’t have enough food, they are able to move closer to people’s homes and even cause accidents. Despite this, the koala is a very interesting animal that has not yet been fully studied by scientists.
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If there were a popularity contest among animals, the koala would undoubtedly take one of the prizes. The appearance of this mammal is touching, because it looks so much like a small teddy bear!
Koala, or marsupial bear(Phascolarctos cinereus).
The appearance of this animal is quite unusual. Its coat is short and thick, usually smoky gray in color with a lighter belly, sometimes with a brownish tint. The eyes are small and look slightly blind, but the ears are relatively large, widely spaced, with long hair at the edges. The koala's large, leathery nose is flattened. His tail is typically “bearish” - short and almost invisible, but the claws on his paws are very long and curved.
Because of this appearance Many people classify koalas as bears.
In fact, they belong to the order of Marsupials and are in no way, even distantly, related to bears. And the koala is alone in its group, because it is represented by only one species, and its “ cousin"can only be considered a wombat. The marsupial bear is endemic to Australia, which means that it lives only on this continent and nowhere else. The typical habitats of koalas are eucalyptus forests, with which these animals are connected by an unbroken food chain.
Koalas feed exclusively on eucalyptus leaves.
Interestingly, eucalyptus leaves contain greater or lesser concentrations of hydrocyanic acid, which is poisonous to any animal. Koalas are less sensitive to its effects than other animals, but this does not mean that they cannot be poisoned. It’s just that in different seasons of the year they choose those types of eucalyptus in which the content of hydrocyanic acid is lower this moment minimal. There are known cases of poisoning of koalas when they were deprived of the opportunity to change the source of food. There is another prejudice associated with the diet of koalas. It is believed that these animals never drink. Allegedly, the word “koala” itself comes from this feature, which in the Aboriginal language means “non-drinker.” Previously, this statement was so widespread that it even penetrated the pages of academic publications. But in fact, koalas, although infrequently, still drink water.
The photographer caught a rare moment when a koala decided to “get its throat wet” in a country pool.
Marsupial bears spend most of their time in trees: there they sleep, eat and reproduce.
These animals rarely descend to the ground, only to move to the next thickets of eucalyptus.
In modern Australia, where highways cut through eucalyptus forests, koalas often die under the wheels of cars while trying to cross the highway.
A koala walks busily along the road, apparently on very important business.
By nature, these mammals are very slow and phlegmatic.
Most of the time they sleep or simply sit motionless on trees; in search of food, they slowly climb branches and also slowly chew leaves.
Even in their sleep, marsupial bears manage to maintain their balance and never fall from branches.
Koalas are not fertile. They reproduce once every two years. Males climb to the tops of trees and fill the surrounding area with a roar that is unexpectedly low and loud for an animal of this size. Like all marsupials, pregnancy is short (30-35 days), females give birth to underdeveloped cubs weighing only 5 g. Usually one, or less often two, cubs are born.
Female marsupial bear with cub.
Their further development occurs in the mother's pouch, which, unlike other marsupials, opens backwards.
The grown cub climbs onto the mother's back.
After 6 months of milk feeding, the cubs switch to feeding... no, not eucalyptus leaves, as you thought! They consume the excrement of the mother, whose body during this period secretes a pulp from semi-digested leaves. This is due to the fact that koalas consume a large number of roughage, so bacteria live in their intestines to help them cope with such indigestible food. For a newborn, the only way to acquire useful microflora is this. Babies are very attached to their mother and in captivity they often “cry” when left alone. By the way, koalas are silent and usually do not make any sounds. Only a wounded or abandoned koala begins to scream, and this cry really resembles the cry of a baby.
Young koalas love to sit, clinging to their fellow koalas like a train—a friend’s shoulder makes them feel more confident.
In the trees, koalas have neither food competitors nor enemies, but on the ground they are sometimes attacked by domestic dogs or dingoes. However, predators do not eat the meat of marsupial bears due to the strong eucalyptus odor. Despite this, koalas are not immune to trouble. These are sickly animals: both in nature and in captivity they are susceptible to conjunctivitis and colds, and often die from complications. It is also difficult to treat marsupial bears because they do not tolerate anesthesia well. These animals are friendly and easy to tame. In captivity, koalas show a touching affection for their caregiver, which is quite unexpected, because in general they do not have a high level of intelligence.
The marsupial bear Alinja is being weighed at the Duisburg Zoo (Germany). You can often leave a small koala alone by offering him “ surrogate mother" - any soft toy, something he could hold on to.
Such cute habits leave no one indifferent, and koalas are deservedly popular among both adults and children. In zoos, koalas attract crowds of enthusiastic observers near their enclosures; they are a favorite object for making souvenirs and children's toys. But it was not always so. At the beginning of the twentieth century, they were intensively hunted. Although koalas are not suitable for the role of an honorary trophy, because hunting them is no more difficult than shaking apples, they were killed en masse for the sake of their thick, pleasant-to-touch fur. As a result, the population of these animals decreased to a critical size, and only after that people came to their senses and began breeding them in captivity. Breeding koalas in captivity is not an easy task. The main difficulty is that in zoos it is difficult to provide koalas with natural food - fresh eucalyptus leaves. Therefore, koalas are kept mainly in zoos located in areas with mild climates, where it is possible to grow eucalyptus trees in open ground. The greatest successes in breeding these animals have been achieved by zoos in Australia and San Diego (California).
Jimmy the Koala is caught off guard by the photographer.
Koala numbers are still at undesirably low levels. Of course, nowadays no one would think of shooting koalas on the collar. But the danger lies elsewhere. Due to the densely populated areas, koalas have less and less natural habitats, and man-made pressure is constantly increasing. Often due to the fault of a person in eucalyptus forests(already dry and waterless) fires occur. There is simply no escape for slow-moving koalas in the fire.
The burnt corpse of a koala looks like a toy thrown away as unnecessary.
The only thing we can hope for is the timely work of special rescue teams. During massive fires, they patrol forests and provide assistance to injured animals. There are several large rehabilitation centers, where comprehensive veterinary supervision is carried out. We can only hope that people’s efforts will lead to the long-awaited result and that “teddy bears” will not be in danger of extinction in the future.
This marsupial bear was lucky. Veterinarians from the rehabilitation center came to his aid.
Few people can remain indifferent when contemplating a charming animal that looks like little bear. Although the Australian resident has nothing to do with them. Like many other inhabitants of Australia, the koala 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. On the hands of the front paws there are two thumbs, which are set aside, three more fingers are 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.
Interestingly, the papillary pattern found on the fingertips of koalas is very similar to human fingerprints, even electron microscope has difficulty detecting 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 cola 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 calls 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.
Males reach sexual maturity 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 wildlife The marsupial has no enemies, most likely because its meat smells of eucalyptus. Animals are tamed quite quickly, they are condescending towards the person who takes them in their arms. But 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.
What is known about marsupials? A kangaroo with a baby in its mother's pouch immediately appears. But marsupials include anteaters, American opossums, and even wolves. AND cute koala animal- also a marsupial mammal.
Fluffy phlegmatic
The koala is a koala, and the first report about it appeared back in 1798: a kullawain animal was found in the Blue Mountains. It was a koala.
He has a cute appearance: a wide muzzle with small eyes, alert shaggy ears, a curved nose, soft silver fur. A real teddy bear. Such a “toy” sits on a tree, clinging to it with its front paws, and phlegmatically looks around the surroundings. On the mother's back is an absolutely calm calf. This is such an idyllic picture.
How do they manage to sit still? It's all about the paws: the claws on them are so strong and sharp that they can withstand the weight of the animal for a long time.
Eucalyptus fussy
An adult animal feeds exclusively on eucalyptus leaves and never drinks - it only needs juice, which is found in abundance in eucalyptus leaves. The Australian aborigines called it that way - “koala,” which means “don’t drink.” The daily diet is a little more than 1 kg of leaves. The animal does not recognize any other food, even when starving. He also refuses unusual types of wood - such are the whims. Even the fact that the leaves often contain poison does not harm the animal - hydrocyanic acid. Apparently, the koala somehow distinguishes in which trees the dose is safe for him - hence the strange preferences.
Creaking Lover
The koala breeds only once in two years. The human ear hears the creaking of ungreased hinges in the male’s serenade, but this song is intended for other, furry ears. The length of a newborn baby is only 15-18 mm, and its weight is about 5.5 g. Usually one baby is born, sometimes two. For six months he feeds on milk, and then for another month on semi-digested eucalyptus pulp, which is secreted by the mother’s body. All this time, the cub hides in its mother’s pouch, and at 8 months it moves onto her back, where it lives for up to a year. He loves to fall asleep cuddled with his mother, just like a human child.
Trusting like a child
The koala has no enemies in nature - perhaps because its meat smells too much of eucalyptus. The animal easily gets used to human caresses. But you need to stroke it carefully because of its sharp claws. The koala is a silent animal, but when alone it begins to yearn and cry like a capricious child.
It is a sin to hunt such an animal, but they hunt. People like thick and beautiful fur - so they destroy it. And droughts, fires, and cutting down eucalyptus groves reduce the number of koalas. The first report in defense of this unusual animal was made back in 1924 by Professor W. Jones, and the public also got involved. The animals were saved only by capturing them and keeping them in captivity.
Amazing and fragile animal world of our Earth - it is so easy to destroy its beauty and balance forever.
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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 because external resemblance with 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.
