Koala


  The Koala By Hannah  Phascolarctos cinereous is the Greek name for Koala. Phaskolos means pouch and Arktos means bear. The word cinereous means ash colored in Latin. The Koala lives in three parts of Australia, in Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria. Most of them mainly live in Queensland. The Indians (humans) first became their principal predator in 1908. A southern male koala usually weighs an average of 26-lbs/11.8 kg. The southern female koala usually weighs an average of 17-lbs/7.9kg. In the southern region, the koala’s coat is thick and woolly. It is usually longer on the back and belly. The koala’s life span varies due to their stress factors. It is probably an average of 13-18 years. The gestation period is approximately 3 months (34-36 days). A baby koala is called a joey. At birth it is about 19 mm in length. At approximately 7 weeks, the joey’s head is about 26 mm. By 13 weeks it weighs about 50grams, and the head length is about 50mm. At about 22 weeks they have opened their eyes and then they start to poke their head out of the pouch to see the world. At approximately 24 weeks the koala has all of its fur and their first teeth have came in. At 30 weeks it will spend most of its time in its mother’s pouch so that it can develop correctly.  While in its mother’s pouch the joey must eat its mother’s  pap (poop) so that it can get all the nutrients it needs to survive. The reason that it has to eat its mother’s pap is because the mother digests the crushed up Eucalyptus leaves and then poops it out for the baby to eat.  The koala gets most of its water from Eucalyptus leaves. The name koala means “no drink,” but they do occasionally drink water from streams. Koalas like to sleep for 18-19 hours a day. Most of their activity takes place at night making them nocturnal. They get low-energy, high-protein diet in the Eucalyptus leaves. <span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);"> <span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);"> <span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);"> Koalas are solitary animals and do not live in families. They are very possessive of their trees and mark them with scents and scratches. After a koala dies, it is over a year before another koala invades another’s tree. <span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);"> At one time koalas were an endangered species because people would kill them for their fur. Now, the koalas are having a hard time surviving because people are cutting down the Eucalyptus trees for areas to farm. The Australian Koala Foundation and The Australian Wildlife Hospital and Rescue Unit are two agencies that are trying to preserve the koalas’ habitat. They also help rescue sick, injured and orphaned koalas. The koala and many other animals are affected by the changes in the environment. This is another reason for humans to respect the planet. <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);"> <span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);"> The koala lives mainly in Australia. They live approximately 10 years. A baby koala is called a joey. They are a nocturnal animal and survive mainly on Eucalyptus leaves. The koala and many other animals are at risk due to human and environmental influences. There are agencies to help save and preserve the koala and its habitat.