11 Awesome Koala Facts
The Australian government has officially announced our iconic species as endangered - here are some facts about the only living members of the Phascolarctidae family.
I’ve been delving further into our fascinating Koala species. Here are some things you may not be aware of our most famous australian animal.
1. Koalas are NOT bears.
They are marsupials and their closest relative is actually the wombat [although on the family tree they are very far apart – no kissing cousins here]
2. The name “koala” is derived from the Dharug word “gula” or “gulamany” meaning “no drink”.
Koalas don’t often need to drink water because they get enough moisture from the eucalyptus leaves they eat. However, as most will have watched the famous images from the 2019/20 bushfires - koalas are can be seen drinking water to try and survive heatwaves, deforestation and… yep fire.
3. Koalas are solitary
There is no proper collective noun for Koalas for this reason [although if I was to pick one I’d call it a “nap”.]
However their society is actually a bit more complex than that. Koalas have a ‘home range’ and are usually quite respectful of each other’s boundaries. A ‘home range’ has a number of ‘home range trees’ as well as ‘food trees’. These trees provide the Koala with food, shelter and places for social contact that support it for the term of its natural life - assuming there is no habitat clearing.
Within a socially stable group, the home ranges of individual Koalas will overlap with their neighbours. It is in the shared trees that the majority of social interaction takes place. These are VERY important trees.
4. Koalas are pickier eaters than a two year old….
From the 700 odd species of eucalyptus trees – a koala will only eat from around 50.. BUT individuals will have a favourite and often only eat from around 3 different species. THIS IS WHY HABITAT IS SO FLIPPING IMPORTANT!
5. Koalas eat A LOT!
The Koalas’ digestive system is especially adapted to detoxify the poisonous chemicals in the eucalyptus leaves. They eat between half to one kilo of leaves a day. Sometimes to mix up the menu they will try out some paperbark, tea tree or wattle leaves.
6. Koalas smell like Eucalyptus!
No surprise here? But it also doubles as an insect repellent. Gotta love nature.
7. Koalas have fingerprints!
They are the only animals other than primates that have them—and just like us, each one is an individual. They also have unique patterns on their noses, which helps wildlife biologists to identify and track them. No thieving for these guys – although not sure how fast the getaway would be anyway….
8. Koalas have big butts..
I cannot lie… they have strong cartilage in the base of their curved spine – well adapted for snoozing in their arboreal homes. The fur on the Koala’s rump is densely packed and provides an inbuilt cushion. Vestiges of a tail are still present in the skeletal structure of the Koala, which indicates at some point in its evolutionary history an external tail was present. It shares this feature with [you guessed it] the wombat.
9. Koalas are good mummies.
Being marsupials, joeys are born 35 days after conception. As tiny as a jellybean, it will continue to develop inside the mother’s pouch. Deaf, blind and furless they rely on mama [oh the urge to say bear] for around 12 months. Six months in the pouch and six months on her back. Breeding is from August to February.
10. Koalas only live on the east coast of Australia.
11. Koalas can have twins!
They are equipped with the teats but this is a very rare phenomenon. As a twin mama I had to include this.
There is so much to learn about our threatened species! Our flashcards include the Koala as the “K”, and they also feature on our playing cards!