Land clearing, logging, and bushfires-especially the devastating 2019-2020 season-have destroyed much of the forest they live in. Now they face serious threats from habitat loss. Koala numbers plummeted in the late 19th and early 20th century from hunting for their fur. They eat so much eucalyptus that they often take on its smell.
Koalas can even store leaves in their cheek pouches for later. Koalas usually don’t drink much water as they get most of their moisture from these leaves. Tucked into forks or nooks in the trees, koalas may sleep for 18 to 22 hours.
That’s why koalas sleep so much- they get very little energy from their diet. Eucalyptus is toxic, so the koala’s digestive system has to work hard to digest it, breaking down the toxins and extracting limited nutrients. Koalas can eat more than a pound of eucalyptus leaves a day. They rely on the eucalyptus tree for both habitat and food. When not sleeping, they’re usually eating. Koalas live in the eucalyptus forests of southeastern and eastern Australia. They have two toes, fused together, on their feet, which they use to comb their fur. They have two opposing thumbs on their hands, and both their feet and hands have rough pads and claws to grab onto branches. Though koalas look fuzzy, their hair is more like the coarse wool of a sheep. Often called the koala “bear,” this tree-climbing animal is a marsupial-a mammal with a pouch for the development of offspring. The koala is an iconic Australian animal. Current Population Trend: Decreasing What is the koala?
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