Koala Australia’s Symbol
Power Point By: GW
The name of my animal is KoalaIt’s scientific name is “Phascolarctos Cinerus” meaning “furry pouched gray bear” in LatinIt is a marsupial A marsupial is an animal that has a pouch
Introduction
A Koala has shaggy grey ears
It has a big black shiny nose
5 sharp claws Rough pads on it’s feet Females have pouches for
young They have grayish, soft fur
& weigh up to 30 pounds They look like stuffed
animals with sharp teeth but you can’t see their teeth unless they open their mouth
Physical Features
A koala may live up to 20 years in the wild
It’s territory is endangered because people have been cutting down the trees that koalas live in
Koalas used to be endangered because people would kill them for their soft and silky fur
Lifespan/Is It Endangered?
Koalas live in Australia but many different places in Australia such as; Queensland , New South Wales , Victoria , and South Australia
They stay in eucalyptus trees where they eat , sleep , drink , and have their babies
They go to zoos in California and Japan where the climate is just right for them
Habitat /Where It Lives
Koalas have thick soft fur to keep them warm when it’s cold
When the climate is warm a koala sheds some of it’s fur
The shade of the eucalyptus tree also keeps it cool
It’s fur also serves as a fantastic rain coat
Climate
A Koala eats eucalyptus leaves from eucalyptus trees
They are herbivores, a herbivore is an animal that eats only plants
It has a sense of smell that can smell out good eucalyptus leaves
Eucalyptus leaves have water inside them so that a koala can drink water
Food
They are very picky eaters because they only eat from trees that they like
They can store food in they’re cheeks while chewing
Eucalyptus leaves make them very sleepy
They eat from gum trees also
More About Food
A baby is about the size of a jelly bean
It is called a joey just like a baby kangaroo
A mother koala is only pregnant for 35 days before giving birth
After a female mates with a male she has the baby and raises it on her own
A baby must travel to it’s moms pouch when born it has forelimbs to help
Reproduction - Babies
The first 4 weeks a baby goes in & out of the pouch to see the world but gets scared when it does
After one month the baby is to big for the pouch and must ride on it’s mothers back
But, it dips it’s head into the pouch to drink it’s moms milk
A mom can only have up to 2 baby’s in 1 litter
More Babies
One predator for a koala is a dingo
Another is an owl A koala is very fast so it
can move when on the ground
A koala doesn’t eat any animals, only eucalyptus leaves
Prey – Predators
Sleep all day and very lazy
Growls when other koala comes near it’s tree
Only lets a family member near it
Wants to be alone except in mating season
Behavior
Sharp teeth to bite it’s food
Sharp claws to hang on trees
Fantastic sense of smell to see if a leaf is not bad, if it is a koala will move on
Physical Adaptations [that help it adapt to environment]
Males make growling noises in mating seasons to attract females to it’s tree to make a family
Sometimes males fight for females [also to start a family]
Females don’t let anyone near the baby when first born
Behavior [that helps adapt to environment]
Females have nipples to feed their young inside their pouch
A pouch to carry their young
Cheeks that can store their food in
Physiological Adaptations -what’s inside of them
Sleeps 18 hours a day and only wakes up to eat
600 different species of eucalyptus trees
Koala’s are actually not bears
3 Interesting Facts