One reason why many tourists visit Australia is its wide variety of unique animals. Australia has 378 species of mammals, 828 species of birds, 4,000 species of fish, 300 species of lizards, 140 species of snakes and about 50 types of mammals living in the sea. However, koalas, kangaroos, echidnas, dingo and wombats are the most representative.
This January 26th is , SBS decided to investigate why the koala is so unique. Laura Jones, a specialist in koalas at the Zoo in Sydney, gives us details that you might not know about koalas.
1 Koalas are the only animals that live entirely on eucalyptus
According to Laura Jones, koalas are incredibly unique because they are the only animals that live entirely on a diet of eucalyptus. The other important fact about the eucalyptus is that if you crush the leaves it has a really strong smell and that is actually a chemical that protects them from being eaten by other animals. The koala digestive system is uniquely set up to digest the eucalyptus poisons, whereas if we try to eat it we will feel very sick.
The hardest part of keeping koalas happy is food supply. According to Laura Jones, the Taronga Zoo has plantations of eucalyptus. There are around 800 species of eucalyptus growing in Australia but there are only fifty or sixty kinds that the koala actually likes. At Taronga Zoo they plant about 20 different kinds of the ones they like and around 200 trees are planted per koala. "We have about 20,000 trees to feed up 20 koalas. That is the biggest problem with keeping koalas fed and happy. Potentially if you live in another country and you have a bit of cool weather and the trees do not grow well, you just cannot have koalas."
2 They sleep for about 20 hours a day
Eucalyptus does not have a lot of calories, which means koalas don’t have much energy to do lots of activity. They just keep their lives to the minimum: eating, feeding and digesting their food.
3 Koalas are declining
Laura Jones said that they have estimated numbers of koalas. "What we do know is that they are declining and they are a threatened species right now. If the numbers continue to decline they might slip into the endangered category soon". According to the Australian Koala Association, koalas might disappear in 2080.
4 Koalas can be aggressive
Koalas look a lot like a bear but they are not related to bears at all. Is a bit misleading that they look really cute as they can be quite aggressive, particularly if they feel threatened.
5 Koalas are "arborials"
In the wild koalas are sitting up to 30 or 40 meters off the ground in a tree. They are considered entirely tree dwelling animals, ‘arborials’ is the fancy word for that. They find a fork in the tree. They never fall to the ground. They are very good at taking long naps high up in the trees.
6 Koalas have large claws
Koalas usually have large claws and double tongs. That means that they have a different adaptation for life in the trees. They are not like monkeys but they can jump from tree to tree. Those claws help them to make landings and they are very good at moving around.
7 Koalas can move quickly when they need to
There is a misconception that they are quite slow but not the case at all. They can move nice and quickly when they need to be. They can travel across the whole tree in just some seconds.
8 Differences between a male and female
If you have ever seen a koala with a big brown chest that is a male. They are usually larger with bigger faces and bigger noises than the females. Males are also distinguished by having a gland on his chest. The females are identified by having a pouch.
Koala at Taronga Zoo. Source: SBS Spanish
9 Five weeks of pregnancy
One thing distinguishing them from bears is that females have a pouch, just like a kangaroo, that puts them in the marsupial group. "When you are a marsupial you have a very short pregnancy. So, it’s only five weeks. Five weeks is not enough time to do all your growth and developing", says Laura Jones. "Five weeks is not enough time to develop entirely, they are very small, like a jellybean". They will spent the next seven or eight months in the pouch. So, after they are born they must crawl out of the fur into the pouch where there are teats which they suck from and they continue growing in there. As mammals, they still feed the young with their mammary glands and milk. The closest relative of the koala is the wombat.
10 Koalas can live about 15 years
Koalas can live about 15 years at the zoo and the wild 10 or 12 years.
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