ANIMALS NATIVE FROM AUSTRALIA - KOALA

THE KOALA

The Koala is a thickset arboreal marsupial herbivore native to Australia. The Koala is broadly similar in appearance to the wombat (their closest living relatives), but has a thicker coat, much larger ears, and longer limbs. The Koala has large, sharp claws to assist with climbing tree trunks. Weight varies from about 14 kg for a large southern male, to about 5 kg for a small northern female. The Koala's five fingers are arranged with opposable thumbs, providing better gripping ability. The first two fingers are positioned in apposition on the front paws, and the first three fingers for the hind paws.

The Koala lives almost entirely on eucalypt leaves. The Koala will eat the leaves of a wide range of eucalypts, and occasionally even some non-eucalypt species such as Acacia Leptospermum, and Melaleuca.

Today, habitat loss and the impacts of urbanization (for example dog attacks and traffic accidents) are the leading threats to the survival of the Koala. In recent years, some colonies have been hard hit by disease, especially chlamydia. The Koala requires large areas of healthy, connected forest and will travel long distances along tree corridors in search of new territory and mates. The increasing human population of the coastal parts of the continent continues to cut these corridors by agricultural and residential development, forestry, and road-building, marooning Koala colonies in decreasing areas of bush.