The Koala

Ines Villido

2009

About

• A marsupial mammal

• Size: 70 - 90cm

• Weight: 4 - 9kg

• Fur is thick soft and

pleasant to touch. Ears have

long white hairs on the tips.

• Can live up to 17 yearshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koala

History

• Fossil remains of koala-like animals have been found dating back to 25 - 40 million years ago.

• In 1798, John Price was the first European who described koalas.

• European settlers started to hunt koalas for their fur. Millions of koalas were shot.

• By 1924 koalas were extinct in South Australia, severely depleted in New South Wales and estimates for Victoria go as low as 500 animals.

Habitat and distribution

Koalas live in tropical to temperate eucalypt forest and woodlands.

They can be found in Eastern and South-Eastern

Australia.

http://www.ecovoice.com.au/evonline/evo-28/koala-evo28.html

Diet

• Restricted to eucalypt leaves.

• An adult koala eats an average 500g to 1kg of leaves a day.

• Only 50 of the 500 or more species of eucalypts are suitable to the koala's diet.

• Koalas also eat a small amount of soil to supplement their diet with mineral nutrients.

Breeding

• Koalas breed once a year from September to March.

• Gestation lasts 35 days, after which one koala is born.

• The baby koala, "joey", is blind, hairless, only a couple of cm long and weighs less than 1 gram

• In the average, one female may produce only 5 or 6 baby koalas over her lifetime.

Threats

• Human threats: – Habitat destruction

– Dogs and feral animals

– Motor vehicles collisions

– Pools - drowning

– Fences - loss of access or impediment of movement

• Natural threats:– Bushfire

– Drought

– Disease

– Predators

http://www.users.bigpond.com/wildlifebb/wildlife/mammals/koala/threats.html

Interesting facts• Koala spends sleeping 75% of its time.• “Koala” means ‘no drink’ in Aboriginal

language. • Koala is an excellent swimmer.• Southern koalas are 30% larger

than the Northern koalas.• The fingerprints of Koalas are

astonishingly like those of human beings. • The Koala can run as fast as a rabbit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koala

Thank you!