Koala message. Koala. Description and features of the koala Australia animals koala

The koala (lat. Phascolarctos cinereus) is a mammal of the marsupial bear family (Phascolarctidae) of the order Diprotodontia, living in Eastern Australia. The animal feeds on eucalyptus leaves, so in captivity outside of Australia it is kept only in the San Diego Zoo (California), where a eucalyptus forest was planted especially for them. The name of this little animal in the language of the local aborigines simply means “don’t drink.”

Previously, koalas were widespread throughout the Australian continent, but at the beginning of the last century, their fur became very fashionable in Europe. In 1924 alone, more than 2 million skins were exported from Australia.

The hunting was so active that already in 1927 these animals were recognized as an endangered species and taken under state protection. Currently, their natural habitats have been practically destroyed, so only a few scattered populations have survived.

Behavior

Koalas spend almost their entire lives in trees, walking in their crowns. The animal happily grazes on one tree for several days. As soon as he has thoroughly eaten the foliage, he slowly moves to another tree.

Periodically, the koala descends to the sinful earth to eat a handful of soil or small pebbles to improve digestion.

The animals move very slowly on the ground, so they become easy prey for wild dingoes. Many koalas die under the wheels of cars while trying to cross highways. They feed at night for several hours at a time, and then doze peacefully, sitting on some fork in the branches.

These marsupials sleep very sensitively and react to the slightest rustle. They prefer to live alone, and to discourage competitors from crawling onto privatized trees, they intensively mark the territory with a rather sharp release of odorous glands. Their fur smells strongly of a mixture of eucalyptus and musk, which helps them repel insects. Insects will smell such a creature and, with a feeling of deep personal hostility, fly away from it.

Nutrition

Eucalyptus leaves contain hydrocyanic acid, which is dangerous to life, so they treat koala feeding very responsibly, inexplicably choosing only those leaves that contain the least amount of poison. A mistake can result in death for the eater.

During the night, the animal eats about 500 g of young leaves and shoots.

Special bacteria living in the vermiform appendix of the intestine help him digest such rough food. Beneficial microorganisms not only convert the eaten leaves into a liquid pulp, but also produce the protein compounds necessary for the body. Reserves of chewed food are stored in special cheek pouches. They can be used during short awakenings during the day.

Eucalyptus leaves contain a large amount of essential oils, which cause constant intoxication and retardation of movements in the koala, so it is simply not realistic to see a sober mammal.

The koala drinks water only during the hottest months of the year. The rest of the time she gets by with the moisture she gets from food. Despite its peaceful nature and nocturnal lifestyle, the animal loves to attract everyone's attention by screaming and barking loudly.

Reproduction

The mating season lasts from December to March, when spring ends and summer begins in Australia. Only females are involved in raising offspring. After 25-35 days of pregnancy, a tiny baby is born, completely dependent on its mother.

The baby is born blind and naked, the size of a bean grain and weighing only about 0.3 g. Its hind legs are not yet formed, but its front legs and claws are already developed. With their help, he crawls into his mother's pouch along a path that the mother licks in her fur.

The cub spends the first six months of its life in a pouch, securely attached to the nipple and feeding on milk. The caring mother begins to feed the grown-up child with her own feces, which contains a lot of semi-digested pulp of eucalyptus leaves.

At the age of six months, the baby leaves the pouch and moves onto the mother's back.

The two of them continue to wander through the trees. Up to 8 months old, the offspring still periodically hides in the bag, and at nine months it can only stick its head into it to drink milk. Soon he leaves his mother and moves on to an independent existence.

Description

The body length of males reaches 78 cm, and females - 72 cm. Males weigh up to 12 kg, and females up to 9 kg. The curly body is completely covered with soft silky fur. The fur on the back is gray, and the belly is lighter. The back is decorated with blurry spots.

Koalas have preserved a rudimentary tail no more than 2 cm long. The head is large and wide. Large round ears are densely covered with hair. The large black nose is devoid of vegetation.

There are 5 toes on the front and hind paws. The first and second toes of the front paws are opposed to the others. All fingers are armed with sharp claws, facilitating tree climbing and a strong grip. On the hind paw, the clawless thumb is opposed to all the others. The second and third fingers are fused and serve for combing fur.

The lifespan of koalas is 15-20 years.

Woody animal koala is considered the personification of the entire continent - Australia, is found only on this continent and is closely associated with it. It has extremely interesting features of appearance and behavior. This is a medium-sized, dense creature, about 70 cm tall, resembling a small bear in appearance.

The weight of even impressive males usually does not exceed 14 kg, but some females are much smaller and weigh only 5 kg. Like many endemics of their continent, koalas are marsupial mammals, that is, they have a special skin sac on their belly in which mothers carry their cubs to term.

The body of such animals is covered with soft, thick fur, the length of a hair being about 2 cm or a little more. Its shade can be very diverse and depends on the habitat. On the back it is always darker: red, red or smoky gray. But the tummy is usually lighter in color.

Koalas are distinguished by a flat muzzle, a large head, small eyes and mobile, furry, round ears. In addition, they have a tail that is hardly noticeable due to its small size.

A very important element of the appearance that these arboreal animals inherited from nature is their mobile paws with powerful, durable claws, which allow them to expertly climb trees. Koalas have developed tenacious limbs from a very early age, when the cubs, grabbing onto the mother’s back, do not get lost, thus following the route of movement as a single whole with her.

The structure of the fingers of both limbs is extremely remarkable. The anterior ones are equipped with a pair of grasping fingers, located separately from the others.

Only four toes on the hind legs are equipped with claws, unlike the thumb, which does not have such a sharp tip. Interestingly, like humans, all koala fingers are marked with individual pad patterns - fingerprints.

Now koala in Australia considered pride and one of its symbols. But we also remember other times when European settlers were just settling in this continent. They were then extremely attracted by the rare beauty of the fur of such creatures. And for this reason, the population of animals, which were mercilessly hunted, suffered significant extermination and were pushed out of their usual habitats.

Today, such animals are found mainly in the southern and eastern regions of the continent. In addition, according to scientists, modern descendants of these representatives of the fauna of the continent have significantly degraded in comparison with their ancestors.

The volume of their brains also decreased, which had a very negative impact on their intelligence, moreover, even on their natural self-preservation skills. For example, modern koalas, accustomed to seek salvation from any trouble in the trees, during the hours of spontaneous fires, do not even realize that it is wiser under these circumstances to get off them and go on the run. Seeing the fire, they only tremble and huddle close to the trunks of eucalyptus trees, among which koalas live, for some reason looking for salvation in them.

Kinds

The lifespan of koalas on Earth, as a family of ancient marsupial bears, according to scientists, is estimated at 30 million years. But in those distant times that have sunk into oblivion, its representatives looked somewhat different.

And many of them could boast sizes that exceeded the size of modern animals from this family by a couple of dozen times. All this is proven by the fossil remains of these creatures. There were especially many such finds in the southern regions of Australia.

Also, a lot of this kind of fossils were found in Queensland, one of the states of the continent. Koalas still live in this area of ​​the planet: they weigh no more than 9 kg and are gray in color. But in the state of Victoria, modern animals of this type are found larger. And they have predominantly chocolate-colored fur.

It should be noted that, regardless of the size of these animals living in a particular area, males differ significantly in size from females, more specifically, they are almost twice as long in body length and in weight.

The koala in the form in which it now exists on the planet appeared only 15 million years ago. She is considered a relative of the wombat. This is also a very ancient Australian inhabitant, animal, koala-like on many grounds. In its modern form, it also resembles a small bear, although it is still somewhat larger than the described animal.

Today, the koala is considered the only representative of the koala family and is classified as a species of the same name, which is also called a marsupial bear. Although purely biologically and genetically, such animals are not related to bears at all. Koala in the photo perfectly demonstrates all the funny and very cute external features of these animals.

Lifestyle and habitat

These are inhabitants of eucalyptus forests. Among the thickets of such trees, moving along their trunks, branches and crowns, such creatures spend all the days of their existence, from the first to the last. Koalas are also quite capable of moving on the ground, although not very well. They go down only if there is a desire to move to another tree in a similar way.

During the day, these animals usually rest, so at this time of day only sleeping koala. But even during waking hours they are not particularly active. These creatures are very lazy; it is believed that they spend up to twenty hours a day in a motionless state.

The only thing they can do deftly, quickly and skillfully is climb trees, masterfully jumping from one branch to another. On the tops of eucalyptus trees they usually escape from ill-wishers. These animals are also capable of swimming well.

Koalas do not have a great desire to communicate with their own kind. The only exceptions are during breeding periods, when they are forced, by the call of nature, to look for a partner. However, at other times there are some differences in the behavior of the different sexes.

Females prefer to settle only in a certain territory, usually without leaving the areas they have previously chosen. There they exist peacefully, not reacting much to what is happening around them, busy only with long sleep and caring about filling their stomach.

Males are not particularly attached to their territories. And sometimes a craving for short-distance travel awakens in them. And when they meet each other, they not only do not experience much joy, but are also capable of starting a fight. Such showdowns are even more relevant during the mating season. And at such a time, for bullies, these fights can become more than harmless.

But such creatures do not pose a danger to people, so they are kept without special precautions in some zoos. After all, for visitors koala – this is a bear small in size, an animal with a cute, funny appearance, which really attracts their attention. There is almost no need to guard such inhabitants in cages due to the lack of a natural desire for active movement.

There is a known case when one marsupial bear named Mundu tried to escape from the San Diego Zoo, but was not particularly successful in his quest for freedom. The fact is that the koala, rushing into an unknown world, fell asleep on the way. Thus, the adventurer did not cause excessive trouble to the zoo workers.

Nutrition

Such animals can eat almost only one plant in the world - eucalyptus. They eat its shoots and leaves. But this representative of the flora contains insufficient protein, but in excess it is full of harmful, even toxic substances and elements.

And there are so many of the latter components that their dose is quite capable of exceeding the permissible limit, leading to death. It should be noted that many of the animal species would definitely not be able to survive on such a diet. But how can koalas not get poisoned with such a diet?

The secret is that they choose only certain types of their favorite eucalyptus trees as food. And this is not an easy task at all. Their highly developed sense of smell helps koalas distinguish a poisonous plant from others.

For this reason, contain pet koala, even despite the peaceful, sedentary nature of this animal and very pretty appearance, it is quite difficult. Of the eight hundred varieties of eucalyptus trees, they are able to feed on less than a sixth of them without harming their own body.

But in captivity, such choice is significantly reduced. The owners, being human, do not have sufficiently developed senses and knowledge to provide their pets with nutritious food. Therefore, koalas, forced from hunger to eat anything, are often poisoned to death.

The slowness of these animals should also be explained by their feeding habits. As already mentioned, their diet does not contain enough protein. Hence the very slow metabolism due to the low nutritional value of the foods consumed.

This animal requires about a kilogram of eucalyptus leaves per day, which it carefully crushes with its teeth, which in all respects are adapted specifically for this type of food. The koala also obtains the moisture required for the body from its favorite plant, as well as the dew that forms on it.

Reproduction and lifespan

Fully mature for procreation koala usually by age three. At the same time, females, by all characteristics, are formed somewhat earlier than males. But the first full-fledged mating for such animals usually occurs only at the age of four.

As is already known, these creatures do not have close communication with each other during normal periods. Therefore, when the time for breeding approaches (this comes once a year), the males begin this process with calling calls.

These sounds, which travel far throughout the area, are not only intended to serve as signals that attract females who live in the neighborhood. It is assumed that these screams should scare off other applicants.

If intercourse is successful, pregnancy occurs, and koala mothers do not carry their cubs for long, only about 35 days. The females of these creatures cannot be called particularly fertile. The litter usually consists of one newborn marsupial bear. But in some cases, twins may be born.

A feature of marsupial mammals is, as is known, the birth of underdeveloped cubs, which are then carried to term by the females in a skin pouch on the abdomen. Newborn koalas weigh only half a gram and are less than 2 cm long.

But such a state does not indicate non-viability. Such babies are quite lively and immediately after birth they climb into the mother’s skin pocket. There they continue their development, feeding, as befits a mammal, mother’s milk.

At the age of six months, the little successors of the koala family begin to gradually switch to adult nutrition, that is, to a eucalyptus diet. To begin with, the mother herself chews the leaves and shoots, feeding them such a light diet, generously flavored with her saliva, endowed with disinfectant properties. This helps the gradual development of normal digestion in babies.

Then the offspring finally leaves the pouch. This happens around seven months of age. For some time the cub still lives directly on the mother. He exists behind her, clinging to her back with his claws. By the age of one year, the offspring practically becomes independent, but tries to stay close to the mother for another couple of months, just in case.

In captivity, koalas with proper nutrition can live up to 18 years. But in natural conditions this rarely happens. In fact, in nature such animals do not have many enemies. Usually, no one attacks them except wild dogs and people.

But these creatures have extremely weak, painful organisms, and therefore, without veterinary supervision and special treatment, they often die prematurely. Under normal conditions, when living in wild eucalyptus forests, the lifespan of koalas can usually be no more than 13 years.

Koalas- endemic to Australia, the original representatives of the Koala family of the same name. Animals live on eucalyptus trees. They are only herbivores and true marsupials! They belong to the order of two-incisor marsupials. The natural habitat is mainland Australia. And only its southern and eastern parts. Previously, animals lived in the west and north, but this was before the arrival of Europeans to the mainland. Plus, koalas artificially populated the territory of Kangaroo Island.

The proper name of the family of small marsupial bears appeared as a transliteration from Darak. The word itself sounded like gula. But in the process of migrations through the wilds of English spelling, it began to sound like a koala. For a long time, the version was promoted that animals do not drink water, and their name, translated from the aboriginal language, means exactly this.

In Latin, the generic name of the animals is Phascolarctos. It combines two Latin roots - bag and bag. The meaning and appearance of animals, this is the name of the genus of marsupial bears, conveys perfectly. The name was suggested by Henri Blainville, a French specialist in animal anatomy and zoology.

Another conflict associated with koalas is caused by the external similarity of animals with representatives of bears. The first colonizers of the mainland, the English convicts, called them that - tree bear, local bear, koala bear. Although, in reality, real bears, koalas, and even people are united only by a common taxonomic unit - a class. In this case, the Mammals class.

The koala family is completely identical to the wombat family. The peak of their heyday, like that of all marsupials, fell on the Oligocene. The work of paleontologists has presented the world with about 18 different species of koalas. In Australia, they found the remains of their giant brother, which is 28-29 times larger than today’s typical animals. Common today, Phascolarctos cinereus has been delighting Aboriginal people, eucalyptus trees and Australia with its plush grace for the last 15 million years.

Their historical curiosities. Koala was overlooked by the captain of all times, James Cook himself. In those days, he opened the mainland to the world for the second time. Moreover, he did this precisely from the east coast, where animals are found in abundance. According to the expedition report, marsupial bears appeared in 1798. A certain John Price brought them there. And the scientific community received the remains of animals in 1802 in a jar of alcohol from the sailor Barrallier. He found the remains of an animal among the aborigines and became interested in them. A year later, a live animal was caught. It was described, drawn and published, a description with drawings, in a Sydney newspaper. Here the identity between koalas and wombats was revealed.

The geography of the family is as follows: the maximum distribution of the species is observed in New South Wales, individual specimens are found in Victoria and Queensland. Previously, there were koalas from the south of the mainland, but they did not survive to this day. At the beginning of the Anthropocene, in a different climate, koalas could be found in western Australia

In appearance, koalas resemble both small bears and very large wombats. Only their fur is thicker, softer and longer. Large round ears and elongated limbs. Long curved claws help support weight from 5 to 14 kg on tree branches. The limbs of koalas are perfectly adapted to life in the canopy. The hands of the upper limbs are divided into 2 parts. In them, 2 fingers in 2 phalanges and 3 fingers in 3 phalanges, closing, create an unbreakable lock that allows koalas to spend their entire lives in trees. Strong curved claws help them move better along, or migrate from one tree to another. The hind limbs are qualitatively weaker and shorter than the forelimbs.

As a curious fact, we can mention the presence of papillary lines on the fingertips. It is curious that koala fingerprints are very similar to traces taken by forensic experts from people.

The teeth are typical of the order of two-incisal marsupials. The same pattern as kangaroos and wombats. Sharp incisors, excellent at cutting leaves. A wide diastema separates them from the grinding teeth. The entire dentition is one hundred percent adapted for herbivorous food.

Another characteristic feature of marsupials is the binary nature of the genital organs. It is very clearly expressed in koalas. The forked penis in males, two vaginas that open the entrance to two clearly separated uteruses, cause delight among experienced and new zoology lovers.

A separate miracle is the brain of these animals. It is miniature, making up only 0.2% of the total weight of the animal. At the dawn of the evolution of the family, it was much larger and filled the entire internal cavity of the skull. Due to narrow specialization in the matter of food choice, the brain shrank, became shriveled and made koalas the negative leaders in the parameter of brain size among the order of marsupials.

Due to their specific lifestyle, animals are quite difficult to study. But in the zoo, some individuals lived up to 18 years.

They rarely make sounds when they are very scared or injured. Males make sharp calls during the mating season. Based on the strength and power of this sound, females choose the most worthy partner for themselves.

Koalas spend almost their entire lives, except for various unforeseen circumstances, in the crown of eucalyptus trees. During the day they are passive, spending time either sleeping or sitting motionless, clinging to a tree with their front paws. Thus, they spend about 16,17,18 hours a day.

If it is not possible to reach from the old tree to the new one, the koala reluctantly and very clumsily descends to the ground. But they jump from tree to tree deftly and gracefully. In case of danger, they climb the first tree on the way with lightning speed. By the way, koalas can swim.

The general passivity of animals, according to scientists, is associated with the peculiarities of the nutritional regime.

Specialization exclusively on eucalyptus leaves and shoots manifested itself in a decrease in brain volume and some inhibition of all processes in the body. This occurs due to the body's tendency to not digest the poisonous, phenolic and terpene compounds of eucalyptus leaves.

Interestingly, eucalyptus leaves contain hydrocyanic acid to varying degrees, which is poisonous to any animal. Koalas are less sensitive to its effects than other animals, but this does not mean that they cannot be poisoned. It’s just that koalas in different seasons of the year choose those types of eucalyptus in which the content of hydrocyanic acid is currently minimal. There are known cases of poisoning of koalas when they were deprived of the opportunity to change the source of food. There is another prejudice associated with the diet of koalas. As we have already said, it is believed that these animals never drink, but in fact, koalas, although infrequently, still drink water.

Koalas have practically no competitors for such food, except for the flying squirrel and the ring-tailed possum. They are also marsupials and also like a small dose of hydrocyanic acid and phenol compounds for breakfast.

Although animals avoid overdosing with poisons and choose plants with reduced concentrations. Those eucalyptus trees that grow near rivers are less toxic on fertile soils. Of the 800 species of eucalyptus trees, only 120 species are eaten by koalas. A developed sense of smell helps animals navigate the level of poisons.

Due to the above nutritional characteristics, koalas the rate of metabolic processes is several times lower than that of ordinary mammals. Only wombats and sloths are also slow and inhibited. In one day, a koala eats from 0.6 to 1.1 kg of eucalyptus leaves. Before swallowing, she crushes and chews them, and the chewed plant mass, as in a depot, “settles” for some time in the cheek pouches. Like all animals that specialize only in plant foods, marsupial bears have many bacteria in the lower parts of their digestive system. This vital microflora helps to do an almost impossible thing - cellulose, which is not digested, it breaks down into digestible compounds. The cecum, in which the main enzymatic and bacterial processes occur, is greatly hypertrophied. It reaches a length of about 2.4 m. Poisons that are washed into the blood are then neutralized by the liver.

Although, one version of the origin of the animals' proper name means “not to drink,” but animals remove dew from leaves and squeeze moisture from eucalyptus leaves. In case of severe drought or numerous diseases, koalas are forced and reluctant to descend from the trees and go in search of water. Koalas relieve the lack of minerals and other substances in the body by eating soil.

Koalas are solitary by nature, both females and males. They do not have a clear territory. Only during the breeding season do animals gather in a kind of harem. They include one male and several females - from 2 to 5 pieces. They attracted the females by the smell that remains on the trees, against which the males rub their chests. In addition to smell, females react to the strength and power of calling calls. Having chosen a male by smell and cry, females agree to mating, which takes place in a tree.

Pregnancy in koalas lasts 30-35 days. Most often this is one cub. Females are born more often than males. It is very rare for koalas to give birth to twins. Babies weigh 5.5 grams. Their length is up to 2 cm. After birth, they sit in the pouch for six months, feeding on milk. In recent months, they get out of the pouch and travel around the groves of eastern Australia, sitting on their mother’s back or stomach. At 30 weeks, the cubs begin to eat their mother's excrement. During this period, the female begins to excrete unconventionally liquid excrement. This is a long evolutionary path. It allows the introduction of microorganisms necessary for the digestion process into the intestines of the cubs.

After a year, females go in search of their personal area with eucalyptus trees, and males live near their mother for another 1-2 years.

Koalas breed only once every 1-2 years. Females enter puberty at the age of 2-3 years, in males - at 3-4 years. On average, a koala lives 12-14 years, although in zoology there are cases where animals lived up to 22 years of age.

Before settlers from Europe arrived in Australia, koalas died mainly from epizootics, various inflammatory processes, fires and drought, which is not uncommon in the tropical and subtropical climate zone.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, koalas began to be hunted because of their attractive color and fairly thick fur. In 1924 alone, 2 million koala skins were exported from the east of the country. Because of their gullibility and slowness, these animals were very easy prey for any hunters.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a global introduction of animals to Kangaroo Island was carried out. Over the course of a century, without natural enemies, in favorable climatic conditions, koalas multiplied. The food supply quickly depleted on a small island and this caused concern among the government and environmentalists of the state of South Australia. The government was afraid to shoot animals, because it could damage the country’s image.

To study and popularize the species, Koala parks were created on the mainland. One near Brisbane, the other near Perth, and also on Kangaroo Island, where the animals were brought for settlement. In Australia, the Koala Foundation was founded, which monitors the state of the koala population, preserves its numbers and protects the animals’ natural habitat.

In captivity, they show touching affection for their caregiver, which is quite unexpected, because in general koalas do not have a high level of intelligence.

Such cute habits leave no one indifferent, and koalas are deservedly popular among both adults and children. In zoos, koalas attract crowds of enthusiastic observers near their enclosures; they are a favorite object for making souvenirs and children's toys. But it was not always so. At the beginning of the twentieth century, they were intensively hunted. Although koalas are not suitable for the role of an honorary trophy, because hunting them is no more difficult than shaking apples, they were killed en masse for the sake of their thick, pleasant-to-touch fur. As a result, the population of these animals decreased to a critical size, and only after that people came to their senses and began breeding them in captivity. Breeding koalas in captivity is not an easy task.

The main difficulty is that in zoos it is difficult to provide koalas with natural food - fresh eucalyptus leaves. Therefore, koalas are kept mainly in zoos located in areas with a mild climate, where it is possible to grow eucalyptus trees in open ground. The greatest successes in breeding these animals have been achieved by zoos in Australia and San Diego (California).

The marsupial bear is one of Australia's most famous animals. Despite the external resemblance to ordinary bears, this representative of the Australian fauna has nothing to do with them. The eucalyptus bear is found only in certain parts of Australia and few people have the opportunity to see this miracle of nature with their own eyes.

The marsupial bear is one of Australia's most famous animals.

Not every zoo can provide these animals with the amount of eucalyptus leaves they need. Koalas require special attention from humans, as they are an endangered species. Their numbers were able to increase only recently, when measures were taken to ban hunting and protect the eucalyptus forests that serve as home to these amazing creatures.

History of the development of the species

The marsupial is a two-incisor marsupial and is the only living member of the koala family. The modern eucalyptus bear is a small animal. The weight of adult individuals varies from 5 to 14 kg. Females are usually smaller than males. In the process of evolution, these animals' bodies were ideally adapted for living in a tree and eating low-nutrient foliage. For a long time, these creatures were believed to be related to pandas, kangaroos and opossums, but this is not true.

Archaeological excavations in different parts of Australia helped lift the veil of mystery about the appearance of the koala bear. Thanks to fossilized remains, it became known that the first marsupial bears began to appear in this territory approximately 30 million years ago. In those distant times, more than 18 species of koalas lived on this remote continent, and some of them were real and giants. They were 30 times larger in size than their contemporaries.

It is believed that the giant marsupial bears became extinct due to climate change, which became excessively dry, as the eucalyptus trees they bypassed and some other plant species began to rapidly disappear.

During this period, many marsupials that had successfully survived in the vastness of this continent for millions of years became extinct. The plush-looking modern koalas only appeared in Australia 15 million years ago. This species turned out to be the most successful, and therefore outlived its relatives. Australian koalas, unlike their ancient relatives, have a relatively small brain. Scientists attribute this to the fact that animals eat low-calorie eucalyptus leaves and lead an inactive lifestyle, so they simply do not need a developed brain.

The marsupial is a two-incisor marsupial and is the only living member of the koala family.

These creatures have fine, rich gray fur, making them difficult to spot in the foliage. They were first described in the 19th century, when the new continent was being actively explored. Because of their beautiful, warm coat, by the beginning of the 20th century, koalas were almost universally exterminated. For a long time, their fur was perhaps Australia’s most valuable export product, which had an extremely negative impact on this species. In addition, their numbers were negatively affected by the widespread destruction of eucalyptus forests.

Among other things, the attractive appearance and gentle disposition led to the fact that many people in the 20th century wanted to acquire such a pet. However, keeping a koala at home is almost impossible. These marsupial herbivores consume only the leaves of certain types of eucalyptus trees, so when attempts were made to keep them at home, the animals, as a rule, quickly died from exhaustion.

Gallery: marsupial bear (25 photos)

Habitat of koalas in nature

The natural habitat of the koala bear is extremely limited. These amazing creatures are found mainly in coastal areas in the east and south of Australia. There is a small population of koalas in the north of the continent. In addition, koala bears are currently found on a number of coastal islands, where optimal conditions have been created for them.

Koalas feed exclusively on eucalyptus leaves, so their habitat is limited to tropical and subtropical rainforests, where there are many trees that can become a food source for them.

The koala's tree, the eucalyptus, can only grow in regions with high humidity, so only in certain regions can these animals thrive, which puts them in conflict with human interests. There are several types of eucalyptus trees that animals feed on at different times of the year. This is no coincidence. The leaves of certain types of eucalyptus are distinguished only for a short period by a reduced amount of hydrocyanic acid.

Despite the fact that the koala bear can determine the degree of toxicity of foliage by smell, poisoning in these animals is not uncommon.

Plush-looking modern koalas appeared in Australia only 15 million years ago.

In addition, it is known that of the almost 800 species of eucalyptus, the koala can feed on the leaves and bark of only 120 species. Vast areas of forest in south-eastern Australia were cleared in the 20th century, which adversely affected the life of the koala. To increase their numbers, these animals were brought to a number of coastal islands with dense eucalyptus forests, where marsupial bears are less susceptible to anthropogenic influence, which allows them to gradually increase their numbers.

Islands where koalas were settled by people include:

• Yanchep;
• Kangaroo;
• Tasmania;
• Magnetic island.

Thanks to environmental measures, the habitat of this species currently exceeds 1 million/m². Despite the fact that these unique animals could have gone extinct in the middle of the 20th century, now their numbers are gradually recovering.

Koala in the wild of Australia (video)

Reproduction and habits of koalas

The Australian eucalyptus bear leads a secretive lifestyle, so for a long time little was known about their behavior. These creatures are covered with thick fur 3 cm long, which makes them invisible in the foliage. During the day they eat about 1.5 kg of young leaves and bark of eucalyptus trees. These creatures sleep approximately 18-20 hours a day. It is currently unknown how long koalas live in their natural habitat.

In captivity, when optimal conditions are created, koalas often live up to 18 years. In their natural habitat, koalas have no enemies, so they do not know how to defend themselves. Despite the fact that koalas have long claws and strong prehensile paws designed for climbing trees, when attacked, these animals simply do not know what to do. When severely frightened or injured, the koala makes a sound similar to the cry of a human child. In addition, koalas can cry.

For most of the year, koala bears are extremely silent and try not to give away their location in the eucalyptus thickets, but during the breeding season everything changes. At this time, the males begin to make inviting grunting sounds, demonstrating their strength. Considering that colas usually live nearby, since their habitat is quite limited, this method is very effective. Female koalas are ready to breed in their second year of life. Mating occurs 1-2 times a year. Males can mate at 3-4 years of age. During the breeding season, male koalas can get into fights, causing serious injuries to rivals with their claws.

Females ready for mating listen to the calls of roaring males and choose the largest representatives. Pregnancy in female koalas lasts from 30 to 35 days. Koala cubs are born very underdeveloped, so they can look very strange by human standards.

After birth, the cub, which has only developed front legs, clings to the thick fur of its mother, crawls into the pouch, where it begins to feed on milk. At this time, its weight is about 5 g, and its length ranges from 15-18 mm.

Koala bears are marsupials. Their offspring are fed in a pouch for 5-6 months. After the baby leaves the pouch, it continues to travel on its mother's back for about 6 months. Thus, a koala with a baby is a common occurrence. At this time, a transition period begins.

The mother begins to feed the cub with undigested droppings made from eucalyptus leaves, which contain the necessary bacteria for the cub that are involved in digestion. Typically, females stay with their mother for about a year, after which they begin to look for a territory. Males can stay with their mother for about two years, since they lead a predominantly nomadic lifestyle and are not tied to a specific area.

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Funny little bear cubs, in fact, are not bears at all. Although their appearance resembles clubfoot.

website - Let's dream together, today he will talk about funny bears from Australia, which are not bears at all.

When you say the country Australia, kangaroos and koalas come to mind. These animals are different and similar at the same time. They live only in Australia, have approximately the same color, carry babies on themselves...

They are the symbol of the country, used in commercials, presented in cartoons and soft toys. By the way, we have a soft koala at home. Once about 18 years ago, our grandfather brought him from a business trip to Australia.

Even 15 million years ago, their ancient relatives lived on the planet - more than 18 species of marsupial bears. One of them: the Queensland koala was 28 times larger than its modern brother.

They have an external resemblance to a bear due to the absence of a tail, and their stocky structure, long claws and muzzle are somewhat reminiscent of our favorite fairy tale heroes.

“Australian bears” live in the eastern part of the continent. It is there that eucalyptus trees grow - the favorite delicacy of these mammals. They spend almost their entire life in their branches. They eat, sleep and contemplate the surroundings.

Long sharp claws help them move, hold on to the trunk and not fall to the ground in their sleep. An adult animal can weigh from 6 to 15 kilograms.

Koala animal photo: ©nationalgeographic.com Children boys stay with their mother until they are almost 3 years old

For a stronger grip, the fingers on their paw are strongly spread to the sides: two in one direction and three in the opposite direction.

Fingerprints of shaggy hooligans

Koalas have a pattern of lines and papillaries on their fingers. Almost like a person. Such lines exist in the animal world only in monkeys and a limited number of mammals, which include koalas, and in humans, of course.

And an interesting feature of these mammals is the size of the brain. Not its very presence or absence, but its gradually decreasing size.

This is probably due to an extremely sedentary lifestyle and a strictly plant-based diet. The ratio of brain mass to the entire body is only 0.2%!

The rest of the skull is filled with cerebrospinal fluid, so the head is of generally accepted size in appearance. This leads to interesting associations with people.

Therefore, physical activity is apparently beneficial for everyone: both koalas and people. So that the brain does not shrink.

How a koala screams - a cry like a human child

Although Australian babies are small in size, they can scream so much that you can hear them a kilometer away. And with high volume and very low frequency.

They have a second, additional pair of vocal cords. Which comes to the rescue at the right moment of danger or during the mating season.

And when a koala is very frightened or injured, it can make sounds similar to the crying of a human baby. You can hear the koala screaming in the video at the end of the article.

What does a koala eat?

Favorite food and delicacy are eucalyptus leaves.

For almost their entire short life (up to 18-20 years), koalas hang out on the crowns of these trees:

• At night, when it gets cooler, he climbs from branch to branch
• During the day, when it’s hot, he sleeps tightly clinging to the eucalyptus with his claws

By the way, these “sloths” sleep almost 18-20 hours a day.

The slowness of koalas can be justified: they eat extremely poisonous eucalyptus leaves. Young shoots are less poisonous, and the leaves of this plant in the fall contain huge amounts of phenolic resins and hydrocyanic acid. They take a long time to digest and do not contain protein, which is so necessary for all animals.

Therefore, they have very few competitors in food, only possums and flying squirrels. So, from morning to evening, fluffy sloths try to eat more leaves so that no one gets them. And move less. Processing leaves requires a lot of energy.

The main thing is not to fall from a tree in a dream

Why do koalas go without water?

Koalas don't drink. Only during illness or prolonged drought. They get all the necessary liquid from the same eucalyptus leaves or drops of morning dew. Instead of vitamins, these animals from time to time eat the soil in which they are found! a huge amount of minerals.

Lazy extreme sportsmen

Koalas can jump, but they are very reluctant to do such tricks. Preferring to slowly descend to the ground and climb onto a nearby tree. In moments of danger they can surprise you with their agility and extreme jumps.

These phlegmatic mammals are also capable of frisky galloping, jumping and even swimming in ponds. It’s just that, like most people, koalas don’t like to make unnecessary movements.

Video about showdown between two koalas

How an angry koala screams when its territory has been occupied. The strongest will win.

Koalas are lazy from birth

Once every 1-2 years, a mother koala gives birth to babies. Usually this is one “bear cub”, very rarely there are twins. He is bottle-fed for six months, and for another six months he rides exclusively on his mother’s back.

Boys stay with their mother until they are almost 3 years old, while daughters set off on their own at 1 year of age.

These animals are exterminated in huge numbers because of their dense, thick and beautiful fur.

Now the authorities are trying to stop this trend by transferring the animals to individual islands nearby (Phillip Island) turned into natural parks. Where koalas can live in a natural and safe environment.

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