Koala Bear
Natasha Wheat
Koalas typically inhabit open Eucalyptus woodland, as the leaves of these trees make up most of their diet. This eucalypt diet has low nutritional and caloric content and contains toxic compounds that deter most other mammals from feeding on it. Koalas are largely sedentary and sleep up to twenty hours a day. They are asocial animals, and bonding exists only between mothers and dependent offspring. Adult males communicate with loud bellows that intimidate rivals and attract mates. Males mark their presence with secretions from scent glands located on their chests. Being marsupials, koalas give birth to underdeveloped young that crawl into their mothers' pouches, where they stay for the first six to seven months of their lives. These young koalas, known as joeys, are fully weaned around a year old. Koalas have few natural predators and parasites, but are threatened by various pathogens, such as Chlamydiaceae bacteria and koala retrovirus.
Because of their distinctive appearance, koalas, along with kangaroos, are recognised worldwide as symbols of Australia. They were hunted by Indigenous Australians and depicted in myths and cave art for millennia. The first recorded encounter between a European and a koala was in 1798, and an image of the animal was published in 1810 by naturalist George Perry. Botanist Robert Brown wrote the first detailed scientific description of the koala in 1814, although his work remained unpublished for 180 years. Popular artist John Gould illustrated and described the koala, introducing the species to the general British public. Further details about the animal's biology were revealed in the 19th century by several English scientists. Koalas are listed as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Among the many threats to their existence are habitat destruction caused by agriculture, urbanisation, droughts, and associated bushfires, some related to climate change. In February 2022, the koala was officially listed as endangered in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, and Queensland.
Adopted by white settlers, "koala" became one of several hundred Aboriginal loan words in Australian English, where it was also commonly referred to as "native bear",[5] later "koala bear", for its supposed resemblance to a bear.[6] It is also one of several Aboriginal words that made it into International English, alongside e.g. "didgeridoo" and "kangaroo".[6] The generic name, Phascolarctos, is derived from the Greek words phaskolos "pouch" and arktos "bear". The specific name, cinereus, is Latin for "ash coloured".[7]
The koala is classified with wombats (family Vombatidae) and several extinct families (including marsupial tapirs, marsupial lions and giant wombats) in the suborder Vombatiformes within the order Diprotodontia.[10] The Vombatiformes are a sister group to a clade that includes macropods (kangaroos and wallabies) and possums.[11] The koala's lineage possibly branched off around 40 million years ago during the Eocene.[12]
P. cinereus may have emerged as a dwarf form of the giant koala (P. stirtoni), following the disappearance of several giant animals in the late Pleistocene. A 2008 study questions this hypothesis, noting that P. cinereus and P. stirtoni were sympatric during the middle to late Pleistocene, and the major difference in the morphology of their teeth.[17] The fossil record of the modern koala extends back at least to the middle Pleistocene.[18]
Other studies have found that koala populations have high levels of inbreeding and low genetic variation.[23][24] Such low genetic diversity may have been caused by declines in the population during the late Pleistocene.[25] Rivers and roads have been shown to limit gene flow and contribute to the isolation of southeast Queensland populations.[26] In April 2013, scientists from the Australian Museum and Queensland University of Technology announced they had fully sequenced the koala genome.[27]
The koala was originally classified as Least Concern on the Red List, and reassessed as Vulnerable in 2014.[1] In the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and Queensland, the species was listed under the EPBC Act in February 2022 as endangered by extinction.[75][76] The described population was determined in 2012 to be "a species for the purposes of the EPBC Act 1999" in Federal legislation.[77]
While urbanisation can pose a threat to koala populations, the animals can survive in urban areas provided enough trees are present.[84] Urban populations have distinct vulnerabilities: collisions with vehicles and attacks by domestic dogs.[85] Cars and dogs kill about 4,000 animals every year.[86] To reduce road deaths, government agencies have been exploring various wildlife crossing options,[87][88] such as the use of fencing to channel animals toward an underpass, in some cases adding a ledge as a walkway to an existing culvert.[89][90] Injured koalas are often taken to wildlife hospitals and rehabilitation centres.[84] In a 30-year retrospective study performed at a New South Wales koala rehabilitation centre, trauma was found to be the most frequent cause of admission, followed by symptoms of Chlamydia infection.[91]
Special liver enzymes and symbiotic gut bacteria help to break down poisonous compounds, thus allowing koalas to survive on a diet of eucalyptus leaves. They can eat up to a kilogram a day without even breaking a sweat!
Koalas are endemic to Australia, where they can only be found in the southeast and eastern parts of the country, along the coastlines of Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, and Victoria. They live in forests and open woodlands, typically dominated by eucalyptus tree species. In inland areas, koalas can be found living in eucalyptus woodlands close to water sources such as streams and creeks.
Koalas are mostly asocial marsupials, preferring a solitary lifestyle in the wild. Once young joeys become fully mature, they usually seek out new territory away from home and lead an arboreal lifestyle with minimal social interaction. However, their home range can extensively overlap with other koalas, so it is not uncommon to spot them living in higher densities.
The koala may sleep or rest for up to 18-20 hours every day while being tucked into the fork of the tree. Their extraordinary sleeping habit is believed to be an adaptation to their leaf-based diet, as they get very little energy from just eating leaves. Hence, koalas need more rest and sleep than most mammals to conserve their energy in dry environments such as the Australian bush.
The lifespan of koalas, along with their body sizes, can differ between sexes. Male koalas can be identified by their clearly visible scent gland in the middle of the chest and they are also much larger than female koalas. Male koalas usually live up to 12 years, whereas females of this species can live for much longer, up to 15 years.
At present, koalas face multiple threats in the wild, from deforestation, drought, disease, habitat loss, fragmentation, and modification to climate change. Bushfires are fairly common occurrences in the Australian outback, but as climate changes, more frequent and intense fires happen, which poses an increasing threat to koalas. For example, the 2019-20 Australian bushfire season was one of the most unprecedented and deadly wildfires ever experienced by the continent, resulting in the tragic loss of nearly 3 billion animals, including the tree-hugging koalas.
In January 2020, the WWF UK bushfires appeal raised over 3.2 million as thousands of supporters signed up to become koala protectors and gave generous donations to help fund the recovery effort. The fund raised helped provide emergency care for injured wildlife, restore homes for koalas and other wildlife, plant the first 10,000 trees urgently needed in koala habitats, and support the response, recovery and restoration teams in Australia.
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Good morning. I'm Leila Fadel. A sneaky snacker in Australia has munched nearly $4,000 worth of seedlings in a nursery. The owner, Humphrey Herington, told the BBC he'd been scratching his head for weeks until he caught the critter red-handed, dazed and too stuffed to move. The culprit - a koala bear he calls Claude. The nursery grows eucalyptus plants to bolster koala habitat. Guess Claude thought he'd help himself? It's MORNING EDITION.
Go on an Outback safari, meeting several Australian animals along the way! You will have the opportunity to give treats to our eucalyptus pollinators, Lorikeets, and maybe even catch a glimpse of our elusive Tawny Frogmouth, Relish. Then, you'll visit our koalas, Ellin and Sydney, and see these amazing animals up close. Get your cameras ready for some amazing photo opportunities.
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