Australia is famous for its strange and unique animals, kangaroos, Tasmanian devils, etc. But the animal that makes many people most excited is definitely the Koala. So what is a Koala and what’s interesting about it? Let’s find out with ANB Vietnam
What is a Koala? One of the most “dumb” animals in the world
To answer the question “What is a Koala?” I would like to send you some information about this animal.
Koala (Vietnamese transliteration as co a la bear), also known by the familiar name koala bear, koala is a herbivorous animal that can usually only be found in Australia and especially is only found in the eastern and southern areas of the main island. Koalas are the only remaining species in the world of the family Phascolarctidae
What is a Koala? Pictures of adorable Koala species
Today Koalas have become one of the most beloved animals in the world because of their cuteness. You can absolutely see images of this animal anywhere and the most famous among us Vietnamese are the Koala cakes that are inspired by this animal.
An adult Koala bear usually has a body length of 60 cm to 85 cm with a breast mass of 4 kg to 5 kg. You can easily recognize a koala with its large, black nose and round, silver-gray or chocolate ears.
Although adorable, the truth is that Koala is one of the “dumbest” mammals in the world with a brain ratio of only 2% of body weight (the smallest of all animals). mammals) and is especially relatively “flat”.
Koala bears are found along the east and south coasts of the main island, with a body length of about 60-85cm, a weight of 4-15kg, and fur ranging from silver gray to chocolate brown.
Koala bears in northern populations are smaller and have brighter fur than those living in the south.
Female koala bears are mature enough to reproduce at about 2 or 3 years old, while males are 3-4 years old. A healthy koala bear can give birth to one cub every year for 12 years.
The gestation period is 35 days, and koala bears very rarely give birth to twins. Males and females usually mate between December and March, corresponding to summer in the Southern Hemisphere.
What is a Koala? Newborn koala bears have no fur, have not yet opened their eyes, have no ears and are only the size of a pea. When born, the koala bear climbs onto its mother’s upside-down bag, opens and closes it at will, and clings to one of her mother’s nipples.
Baby koalas stay in their mother’s pouch for about the first 6 months, and only drink mother’s milk. During this time, they will develop ears, eyes, and fur. After a while, the little koala bear will come out. At about 30 weeks of age, it begins to eat a thick food called “pap” secreted by the mother koala.
The koala bear will stay with its mother for another 6 months, climbing on her back, drinking milk and eating leaves. After about 12 months with their mother, the koala bear will go out to find food on its own in the surrounding areas. However, small koala bears will continue to walk with their mother until they are 2-3 years old.
Koala bear appearance
What is a Koala? Koala cubs are medium sized animals. The muzzle is flattened, the eyes are small, it seems that the animal is a bit blind. The dark nose is also a bit flattened, but it is quite large and leathery. The teeth used to process hard leaves are very sturdy, the incisors are especially distinguished by their sharp edges. The ears are round, very widely spaced, relatively large, with long hair at the edges.
The tail is very reminiscent of a bear: as short, almost invisible.
All limbs are elongated, because you have to constantly move through the trees. Therefore, the brush of the upper foot consists of several parts – for ease of movement. The legs are lower, and they are not so strong.
The claws of a wooden bear have several advantages: they are both long and curved in an arc. Thanks to such qualities, it is very convenient to stay on branches, and you can hold weight up to 15 kg.
What scientists were quite surprised at that time were the animal’s fingerprints. It turns out that in all respects it corresponds to the human imprint. There is another unusual fact, and it concerns the structure of the genital organs. Females have as many as two vaginas and two uteruses. Accordingly, males have two penises.
But the Koala brain is surprisingly small compared to its total mass – just 0.02%. Probably, the ancestors of this species were more intelligent, had a larger brain mass, but since Koala life did not imply much brain activity, similar evolutionary changes occurred. However, this sympathy for him did not decrease.
The animal’s fur is short and thick, very pleasant to the touch. By the way, this quality of hers led to the massive destruction of animals by humans because of the attraction of fur. The color of the coat is usually smoky gray, and on the belly is much lighter, a brown tint can also occur.
Koala bear habitat
What is a Koala? Koala bear is a typical resident of Australia. And its habitat completely depends on the presence of eucalyptus trees, serving as both a home, a dining room, and a resting place.
People, of course, are trying to increase the area of distribution of koalas, but over time it becomes clear that only the presence of eucalyptus trees will help the normal life of animals, and not those leaves brought from afar.
Behavior of Koala species
Daily activities
Koala bears are mainly active at night, they sleep during the day and stay awake at night to search for food, but in reality their sleep time lasts from 18-20 hours/day, so they will have no night or day. When koala bears wake up and have had enough sleep, they will go looking for food.
What do koalas eat? Their main diet is eucalyptus leaves. This is a type of leaf that has very few nutrients and is extremely difficult to digest, which is why Koalas have to take a very long time to digest it.
Researchers point out that Koalas need to eat 2,000 eucalyptus leaves in one meal to maintain their body’s activity, and such a meal takes them 100 to 200 hours to digest. That’s why they choose to sleep to save energy.
Researchers for a long time could not understand how this happened: the poisonous leaves of the plant can kill most animals, they should even eat a small amount, and for a koala This is a normal diet.
And they managed to identify several features that distinguish koalas from other animals:
First, koalas have a group of active genes found in the heart, liver and several other organs, and they help determine the composition of leaves and juices, helping to recognize sweets. Second, they have more taste buds, responsible for detecting bitter tastes, than other animals.
There are other receptors in the body that allow you to clearly assess the nutritional value of the plant.
The whole danger of eucalyptus is that it contains a large amount of hydrocyanic acid, which is toxic to living organisms. But koalas are less afraid of its toxic effects. They also have cases of poisoning, but they can choose plants with much lower levels of harmful acids in different seasons.
Mass poisoning of koalas is noted only if, for some reason, for example, due to weather conditions, they cannot change crops.
For food, the koala chooses leaves and very young shoots, only the best, but not because he is such a gourmet. Everything is explained much simpler: eucalyptus leaves contain very few calories, therefore, the most meaty ones are needed for nutrition, so that the animal does not lose energy and energy in processing plant food .
Of course, after a very satisfying meal, the animal needs a rest period of at least 22 hours, since all processes in it take place in a slow rhythm. It’s good that humans don’t have such needs, otherwise there would never be progress on Earth.
Koalas very rarely get drunk, mainly they get enough dew from the leaves.
Koalas spend 22 hours a day just sleeping
They almost completely do not drink water to avoid being attacked by other animals, except in cases such as drought or forest fires.
This animal’s eating of eucalyptus leaves has contributed significantly to the ecosystem by trimming eucalyptus leaves to help the forest become more airy and low-lying plants can receive sunlight.
Reproduction
When they reach 2 or 3 years old, Koala bears can begin to reproduce. When they reach this age, they will begin to look for their mates to fulfill their obligation to maintain the species. Breeding usually begins from December to March of the year.
The baby Koalas will be born after 35 days corresponding to the mother Koala’s pregnancy period. Under favorable conditions and good health, a mother Koala can give birth to 1 baby per year for 12 years and there are almost no cases of twins.
Baby Kaola
When born, baby Koala bears are only the size of a 2 cm pea and are completely hairless. Immediately after birth, they will have to crawl into the mother bear’s bag and place it on one of their nipples.
Baby Koalas will climb from the pouch and cling to their mother’s back when they are 6 months old
The first 6 months of a baby Koala’s life will be spent entirely in its mother’s pouch before seeing the outside world. During the next 6 months, they will cling to their mother’s back, continue to drink milk and gradually eat leaves.
Female Koalas will begin to separate from their mothers to search for food on their own from the 13th month, while male Koalas are good children of their mothers and continue to stay with their mothers until they are 2 to 3 years old.
Interesting things about Koala species
The Koala species contains countless interesting things that you may not know. Next, ANB Vietnam would like to send you some interesting things about this lovely animal
Koala bears are not bears, although we still call them koala bears. Because this animal belongs to the marsupials family, which means it is in the same family as Kangaroo, Wallaby, and Possum. Therefore, koalas also have pouches, and newborn koalas will be raised in their mother’s pouch until they are fully developed.
Koalas rarely drink water, because in the aboriginal language, “koala” means not drinking water. Therefore, they rarely drink water, because it is believed that koalas keep moisture in their bodies from eating leaves.
Koalas can run as fast as rabbits, don’t be fooled by their slow, languid appearance. In fact, koalas can run as fast as rabbits, but to save energy for digestion, they will not run as fast when not necessary.
Koalas have poor eyesight and must rely heavily on other senses. Thanks to their excellent hearing, as well as their keen sense of smell, they can detect animals of the same species and other carnivores, or can find their favorite food…
The koala’s favorite food is eucalyptus leaves, also known as eucalyptus. However, this type of leaf contains poison, but only one type of koala bear can digest this type of leaf, because they have a part called “cecum”, which will help digest the leaves. not poisoned.
Koalas sleep a lot because their diet lacks nutrients from eucalyptus leaves, as well as most of their energy used for digestion, so they limit their movement and sleep a lot during the day.
- Koalas have evolved to be able to digest poisonous eucalyptus leaves
Baby koalas eat their mother’s feces. When their bodies are not fully developed, baby Koalas cannot digest the toxins in eucalyptus leaves, so to increase their diet in addition to breast milk, they will eat their mother’s feces.
Baby Koalas eat their mother’s feces
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.
Koalas are active at night.
80% of the Koala’s living area has disappeared, along with its lazy breeding habits, making the Koala species threatened.
Every year, millions of tourists make visas to Australia just to see these adorable animals.
Through this article, we hope you will not only know better what a Koala is? but also see many interesting things about this cute animal. If you are someone who likes to explore Australian fauna, you cannot miss this beautiful country.
