Worldwide, there is only one country fortunate to have the presence of Koalas, that is Australia, and especially only in the Eastern region of Australia, where there are many eucalyptus forests. Koalas are not bears, they have pouches like kangaroos so that baby koalas can live in them for up to 7 months, koalas very rarely drink water… There are many things we need to know about this animal, as well as how they lived. 80% of habitat is lost, mostly because of humans.
Koala is not a bear
Although we are all used to calling them Koala bears, it is clear that this animal belongs to the ‘masrupials’ family, which is the same family as Kangaroo, Wallaby and Possum. This means that Koalas also have… pouches, and newly born koala babies will be raised in their mother’s pouch until they are fully developed.
Koala is a nocturnal species
Koalas mainly sleep during the day and wake up at night to feed. However, because their sleep time is so long, from 18-20 hours a day, there is no day or night for them. Koalas will wake up and feed when they have had enough sleep.
The name Koala means… “does not drink water”
In the Aboriginal language, ‘Koala’ means ‘no drinks’ because they rarely drink water. Many people believe that koalas keep moisture in their bodies from eating leaves.
Eucalyptus leaves are poisonous
The only thing that Koalas eat are eucalyptus leaves, also known as eucalyptus trees. But this leaf contains poison. Only koalas can digest this type of leaf because their body has a part called ‘cecum’, which helps them digest this type of leaf without any harm.
But in the baby koala’s stomach, the cecum has not yet developed enough to be able to eat eucalyptus leaves. They must stay in the mother’s pouch until the digestive system is complete.
Koala sleeps a lot due to ‘drunk’ eucalyptus leaves?
No problem! They sleep so much because their diet is poor in energy from eucalyptus leaves. Not to mention that most of the body’s energy has to be used for…digestion, so it’s best to limit movement.
Baby koalas cannot digest toxins in leaves
But it’s okay, they will be protected in the mother koala’s pouch for 6 to 7 months. During that time, they only drink milk from their mother, and all the nutrients, as well as special microorganisms from the mother koala’s intestines, will be passed on to their babies, helping to perfect their digestive system.
Koala can run as fast as a rabbit
Don’t let their languid, slow appearance fool you. Koalas can actually run as fast as rabbits, but to save energy for digestion, they won’t run if they don’t have to.
Newborn koalas are only 2cm long
Newborn koalas are only 2cm long, but when mature, they can be up to 60 – 85cm long and weigh up to 14kg. Koalas can live up to 20 years if there are no factors that threaten them.
80% of koala habitat has disappeared
In addition to natural disasters such as drought and forest fires, the koala’s habitat has been shrinking due to humanity itself.
Worldwide, there is only one country fortunate to have the presence of Koalas, that is Australia, and especially only in the Eastern region of Australia, where there are many eucalyptus forests. However, we humans cut down more and more trees to build farms or use them for other purposes, making the koala’s habitat increasingly narrow.
Wildlife & Environmental Conservation Organization – WWF Australia has continuously called for attention from all citizens on Australian territory. This lovely animal is facing the risk of losing all of its habitat, unless we take action to stop it.
