Interesting Facts & Information about Koalas

What are Koalas?

Whilst Australian koalas are often referred to as koala bears, they are not actually bears but marsupials. Hence the young are carried in their mother’s pouch.

The scientific name for koala is Phasclarctos cinereus.

Physical Appearance of Koalas

Koalas have a thumb on each front paw. This facilitates climbing trees and gripping food.

They usually measure 27 to 36 inches (70 - 90cm) and weigh about 9 to 20 lb (4 - 9kg).

The males are generally larger than the females.

Habits

Koalas are nocturnal, sleeping up to 16 or more hours a day (in the fork of a tree). They start to become "active" after sunset. The noise that they make when communicating with other koalas is referred to as "barking" by some while others describe a "bellowing" noise.

They are also very territorial.

The male koala marks his territory by rubbing his chest against a tree, leaving a particular scent behind.
 

Koala Diet

They eat predominantly Eucalyptus leaves but there are 12 different types of Eucalyptus trees that can provide their food. This means that koalas in different areas might be eating different types of leaves according to the tree species growing in that district.

They eat something like 200 to 500 grams of leaves a night, some eating up to a kilogram.

They get most of their water needs from the Eucalyptus leaves as well except in time of drought when they can be observed drinking water directly. 
 

Breeding

The female koala is usually 3-4 years old before starting to breed and then can expect to have anywhere between 5 and 6 babies in her lifetime. Breeding is once a year, producing one baby after a gestation period of 35 days. (More than one is extremely rare.)

The baby koala is called a "joey" and measures about 1 to 2 inches long. It's eyes are closed at birth and the body without fur. Like the kangaroo, the baby koala crawls into its mothers pouch after birth where it stays for the next 5-6 months, suckling its mother’s milk. It sometimes stays longer if the next season does not bring another baby waiting its turn in the pouch. Once leaving the pouch, the joey rides on its mother's back until about 1 year of age.
 

Lifespan

Koalas can live up to 17 years of age, the females usually living longer than the males.
 

Koala Population

It is said that the population of koalas has dropped by 90% in less than a decade! It is estimated that there are probably about 100,000 koalas left.
 

Koala Habitat

Destruction of the koala habitat is one of the biggest threats to survival of the koala.