Funny koala animals seem very cute to many, and for good reason – they get used to people quite easily, and peaceful behavior only adds to their fans. These animals lead a rather passive lifestyle, and therefore they are now endangered in some places, although in general they are not threatened with extinction. They are not able to resist enemies, and become easy prey for predators, and people continue to push them out of their usual habitats.
Interesting facts about koalas
- The only continent on which they live — Australia.
- Koalas are one of the few marsupials in the world. Newborn cubs are not yet fully developed embryos, like, for example, kangaroos, and therefore, after they are born, they spend about 6 more months in their mother’s pouch (interesting facts about kangaroos).
- Koalas do not have any no different species – just one. Although a certain biological similarity with wombats can still be traced, the latter are more reminiscent of huge hamsters.
- The first settlers in Australia considered koalas to be bears because of their resemblance. However, further research showed that they were wrong.
- Nowadays, the habitat of koalas in the wild is about 1 million square kilometers. This is about twice the area of Spain.
- The basis of the diet of koalas is eucalyptus leaves. They are low in calories, and therefore these animals are rather slow, and most of their lives they constantly eat.
- The first food that koalas teach their cubs to eat is mother’s excrement. From them, the cubs receive nutrients that are not fully digested, and their body thus learns to absorb eucalyptus.
- Koalas usually form harems, where there are 3-4 females per male, or even more.
- The gestation period of a female koala usually does not exceed a month. This is very small for such a relatively large animal, so the development of a newborn cub continues in the mother’s pouch.
- James Cook, who opened the coast of Australia for Europeans, did not catch the eye of koalas. They were first noticed and studied only several decades later (interesting facts about Cook).
- Koalas have a very slow metabolism, it is about 2 times slower compared to other warm-blooded mammals. Because of this, they survive on a low-calorie diet of eucalyptus leaves.
- Despite their apparent clumsiness, koalas run quite fast. By the way, they swim pretty well too.
- Koalas have five toes on their feet, but only four of them have claws. They help these animals climb trees.
- Koalas living in southern Australia are noticeably larger than their relatives from the north of the mainland.
- Koalas have two thumbs on their front paws, but no index.
- The fur of these animals is very soft and delicate to the touch, and the thickness of the fur cover reaches 2-3 centimeters.
- Whenever possible, koalas move by jumping from tree to tree. They rarely land on the ground, as they are afraid of predators (interesting facts about trees).
- Eucalyptus leaves are almost never eaten by other animals, as they are poisonous. However, koalas have adapted to eating them, although even they eat only 120 species out of almost 1000 – those in which there is less poison. In addition to leaves, they also eat young shoots.
- The cry of a frightened koala is very similar to the cry of a baby.
- For most of their lives, koalas are immobile. They either sit and melancholy chew on the leaves, or simply do not move. This is a consequence of the aforementioned slow metabolism.
- During the mating season, male koalas, attracting a female, can scream so loudly that these screams can be heard at a distance of 2-3 kilometers.
- Study of fossil remains koalas showed that their ancestors had much larger brains. It has degraded over time, most likely due to a low-calorie diet.
- Male koalas have two penises, while females have two vaginas and two wombs.
- Brain-to-mass ratios the body of these animals is one of the smallest among all mammals. On average, in an adult koala, the brain accounts for only about 0.2% of the total body mass.
- Koalas have fingerprints, and almost indistinguishable from human ones. Apart from them, only humans and monkeys have fingerprints.
- The average lifespan of koalas in the wild is still unknown. The official record in captivity is 18 years.
- Koalas spend almost their entire lives in the crowns of eucalyptus trees.