Koala is a small Australian animal resembling a teddy bear. It is also called the Australian bear, pouched bear, and native sloth, but it is neither a bear nor a sloth. In its slow-moving life in the trees it resembles a sloth.
The koala is a marsupial (a mammal that has a pouch for carrying its young).
The koala is about 24 inches tall and 12 inches high at the shoulder and has only a suggestion of a tail. its thick, soft, woolly fur is ash-gray above and yellowish-white below. It has a thick head, and a short snout, and its mouth has cheek pouches.
The koala often hangs in trees with its back downward, like a sloth. It can grasp the branches easily with its long toes. It sleeps during the day in the top of a blue gum (eucalyptus) tree. The koala feeds only on eucalyptus leaves. It never drinks, but gets liquid from the leaves.
Some people eat koala flesh. Until recently, hunters killed great numbers of the animals for their warm, soft fur.
Characteristics of a Koala
The koala is a robust animal with a large head and vestigial or non-existent tail.It has a body length of 60–85 cm (24–33 in) and a weight of 4–15 kg,[making it among the largest arboreal marsupials. Koalas from Victoria are twice as heavy as those from Queensland.The species is sexually dimorphic, with males 50% larger than females.
Males are further distinguished from females by their more curved noses and the presence of chest glands, which are visible as bald patches.The female’s pouch opening is secured by a sphincter which holds the young in.
Now koalas are protected by the laws of Australia.
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