Koala Research Paper

529 Words2 Pages

The Koala Living on the eastern coast of Australia, the Koala spends its time jumping from eucalyptus tree to eucalyptus tree picking and eating so many leaves that they eventually begin to smell alike. Though many people believe the Koala is a part of the bear family because of their physical similarities, they actually have no relation to bears and their only relatives consist of the wombat and the kangaroo. All three of these animals are a part of the marsupial family. Coincidentally, when identifying the Koala, the Greek word for “pouch” to represent marsupial got mixed up with the Greek word for “bear” explaining why they are now associated with bears. Being a marsupial, the Koala also has a pouch on its stomach. Koalas mate in the summer and their gestation period is around thirty-five days, when the baby, also called a Joey, is born at just under two centimeters long and will begin to make its way to its mother’s pouch where it’ll nurse for the …show more content…

Koalas have many motives for their need to climb trees. First of all, they hardly ever drink water, living in a hot, dry climate which is why they only eat eucalyptus leaves and having to eat two and a half pounds of it a day is how they get 90% of their fluid intake. Secondly, they seek shelter in trees at night so they can sleep without impairment to them or their young. The main reason Koalas resort to being in trees is because they are more so of a flight than fight animal, so they use their grey and white coats to help them blend in with trees to hide from their predators the dingo, large birds, and especially humans. Furthermore, if the Koala is compelled to fight, they have razor-sharp teeth and long claws to defend themselves. To make up for poor eyesight, their hearing and sense of smell give them the upper-hand of distinguishing when predators are in the

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