Animal of the Month

1. Despite common belief, koalas are not bears; they are marsupials (pouched mammals). They live in Australia in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.
2. Koalas have thick, woolly fur, which protects them from high and low temperature extremes. Their fur also acts like a raincoat against moisture when it rains. Their paws are specially adapted for gripping and climbing.
3. Koalas get their name from an aboriginal word meaning "no drink" – because they don't drink very often! They get water from the eucalyptus leaves they eat, which are about 50 per cent water.
4. Koalas are nocturnal, and because of their low-energy diet, they sleep about 18 to 22 hours per day.
5. Koalas prefer to live like humans in small and stable social groups. They are highly territorial and live in trees. If trees where they live are cut down or die, they cannot always move to another group of trees because other koalas might already live in them.
6. Koalas communicate by using a wide range of sounds. Male Koalas often bellow to show their social and physical position. Koalas also communicate by marking trees with their scent.
7. Koalas need a lot of space – about 100 trees per animal. Their habitat is constantly shrinking because more and more trees are being cut down, dying from disease or burning in bush fires.
8. There are about 600 types of eucalyptus leaves, but koalas only eat about 40 to 50 varieties of the leaves. Of these, they prefer just 10 specific varieties. Koalas store leaves in their cheeks as snacks.
9. Koalas were hunted during the 1920s and 1930s for their fur. However, after a reintroduction, populations have rebounded. Now there are even more koalas than before they were hunted.
10. Female koalas give birth to extremely underdeveloped babies who complete their growth in the mother's pouch for six to seven months. When the babies finally emerge from the pouch, they ride on their mother's back or cling to her belly, going everywhere with her until they are about 1 year old.