What order does the koala belong to. Koala, or marsupial bear

If a popularity contest were held among animals, then the koala would undoubtedly take one of the prizes. The appearance of this mammal is tender, because it looks so much like a little teddy bear!

Koala, or marsupial bear (Phascolarctos cinereus).

The appearance of this animal is quite unusual. Its coat is short and dense, usually smoky gray in color with a lighter belly, sometimes with a brownish tint. The eyes are small and blind-sighted, but the ears are relatively large, widely spaced, with long hair at the edges. The big leathery nose of the koala is flattened. His tail is typically "bearish" - short and almost imperceptible, but the claws on the paws are very long and curved.

Because of this appearance, many classify koalas as bears.

In fact, they belong to the order of Marsupials and are not in any, even distant, relationship with bears. Yes, and in his squad, the koala is alone, because it is represented by only one species, and only a wombat can be considered its “cousin”. The marsupial bear is endemic to Australia, which means that it lives only on this continent and nowhere else. Typical habitats of koalas are eucalyptus forests, with which these animals are connected by an inextricable food chain.

Koalas feed exclusively on eucalyptus leaves.

Interestingly, eucalyptus leaves contain more or less hydrocyanic acid, which is poisonous to any animal. Koalas are less sensitive to its action than other animals, but this does not mean that they cannot be poisoned. It's just that in different seasons of the year they choose those types of eucalyptus in which the content of hydrocyanic acid is currently minimal. There are known cases of koala poisoning when they were deprived of the opportunity to change the source of food. Another prejudice is associated with the nutrition of koalas. It is believed that these animals never drink. Allegedly, the very word “koala” comes from this feature, which in the language of the natives means “non-drinker”. Previously, this statement was so widespread that it even found its way into the pages of academic publications. But in fact, koalas, although infrequently, still drink water.

The photographer caught a rare moment when a koala decided to “wet his throat” in a country pool.

Most of the time marsupial bears spend on trees: there they sleep, eat and breed.

These animals rarely descend to the ground, only to move to the next thickets of eucalyptus.

In present-day Australia, where freeways cut through eucalyptus forests, koalas are often killed by cars trying to cross the highway.

The koala is busily walking along the road, apparently on a very important matter.

By nature, these mammals are very slow and phlegmatic.

Most of the time they sleep or just sit motionless in the trees, in search of food they slowly climb the branches and also slowly chew the leaves.

Even in their sleep, marsupial bears manage to keep their balance and never fall from branches.

Koalas are not fertile. They breed once every two years. Males climb to the tops of trees and announce the surroundings with a roar, unexpectedly low and loud for an animal of this size. As with all marsupials, pregnancy is short (30-35 days), females give birth to underdeveloped cubs weighing only 5 g. Usually one, less often two cubs are born.

A female marsupial bear with a cub.

Their further development takes place in the mother's pouch, which, unlike other marsupials, opens backwards.

The grown cub moves to the mother's back.

After 6 months of milk feeding, the cubs switch to food ... no, not eucalyptus leaves at all, as you thought! They consume the excrement of the mother, whose body during this period allocates gruel from semi-digested leaves. This is due to the fact that koalas consume a large amount of roughage, so bacteria live in their intestines that help them cope with such indigestible food. For a newborn, the only way to acquire useful microflora is only this. Babies are very attached to their mother and in captivity often "cry" when left alone. By the way, koalas are silent and usually do not make any sounds. Only a wounded or abandoned koala begins to scream, and this cry really resembles the cry of a baby.

Young koalas like to sit, grabbing their brothers "train" - the shoulder of a friend makes you feel more confident.

On the trees, koalas have neither food competitors nor enemies, but on the ground they are sometimes attacked by domestic dogs or dingoes. However, predators do not eat the meat of marsupial bears due to the strong eucalyptus smell. Despite this, koalas are not immune from trouble. These are sickly animals: both in nature and in captivity, they are prone to conjunctivitis and colds, and often die from complications. It is also difficult to treat marsupials because they do not tolerate anesthesia well. These animals are friendly and easily tamed. In captivity, koalas show a touching affection for their caregiver, which is quite unexpected, because in general they do not have a high level of intelligence.

The marsupial bear Alinja is being weighed at the Duisburg Zoo (Germany). Leaving a small koala alone is often only possible by offering him a "surrogate mother" - some kind of soft toy that he could hold on to.

Such cute habits leave no one indifferent, and koalas are well-deservedly popular with both adults and children. In zoos, koalas gather crowds of enthusiastic observers at 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 20th century, they were intensively hunted. Although koalas are not suitable for the role of an honorary trophy, because getting them on the hunt is no more difficult than shaking apples, they were massively killed for the sake of thick, pleasant to the touch fur. As a result, the population of these animals was reduced to a critical size, and only after that people changed their minds and began to breed 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 zoos of Australia and San Diego (California) have achieved the greatest success in breeding these animals.

Koala Jimmy is caught off guard by a photographer.

The number of koalas is still at an undesirably low level. Of course, in our time it would never occur to anyone to shoot koalas on the collar. But the danger lies elsewhere. Due to the dense population of areas, koalas have less and less natural habitats, and the anthropogenic load is constantly increasing. Often, through the fault of man, fires occur in eucalyptus forests (already dry and waterless). Slow koalas simply have no salvation in the fire.

The charred corpse of a koala looks like a toy thrown out as useless.

The only thing you can hope for is the timely work of special rescue teams. During massive fires, they patrol the forests and provide assistance to injured animals. There are several large rehabilitation centers in Australia with comprehensive veterinary supervision. It remains to be hoped that the efforts of people will lead to the long-awaited result and in the future the "teddy bears" are not threatened with extinction.

This marsupial bear is lucky. The veterinarians of the rehabilitation center came to his aid.

Outwardly, these animals are similar to teddy bears, which causes great delight among people. The coat of koalas is very thick and has a gray tint, the eyes are small, but the ears are disproportionately large, the tail is short, the paws are small with long sharp claws.

Where do koalas live

Koalas belong to the marsupial family and live in Eastern and Southern Australia - in the states of Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia. It is noteworthy that koalas do not live on the island of Tasmania, however, there are small populations of koalas on Kangaroo Island. There are reliable facts that in the past koalas also lived in the West of Australia, however, unfortunately, they were exterminated by man. It should be noted that these animals are not found on any other continent, with the exception of Australia.

These cute animals have been living on our planet for over 34 million years.

Koala lifestyle

The first settlers on the mainland gave this animal various names, such as "sloth", "monkey" and "bear". For a long time there was a myth that koalas are relatives of bears. However, it is not. These animals are the only representatives of their family.

Koalas live in eucalyptus forests and their favorite treat is the leaves of these evergreen trees. Although there are more than 700 species of eucalyptus trees in Australia, koalas eat the leaves of only 50 species, since the leaves of individual eucalyptus trees are extremely toxic.

From the leaves of the koala, the necessary amount of water is obtained for life, and these animals consume water in its pure form in small quantities or do not use it at all.

Nowadays, during natural disasters, when forest fires blaze in Australia, koalas sometimes come to people for water. These animals can also swim well, and will readily display their swimming skills in hot climates when they want to cool off.

For most of their lives, koalas are in trees, where they feed, sleep, and breed. At this time, scientists do not have accurate information about what life expectancy these animals in nature, however, if we judge the koalas of various zoos, then, on average, koalas live from 13 to 15 years.

koalas are very slow animals. They may not move for most of the day. Perhaps this is due to the fact that eucalyptus leaves, which make up the diet of koalas, are very low in calories. These animals descend from the trees extremely rarely if they want to change the tree. However, despite their sluggishness and clumsy appearance, koalas can quickly jump from one tree to another.

During their short journeys across the land, koalas become the target of predators such as foxes, dogs and dingoes. The danger can also come from a person - koalas run the risk of falling under the wheels of cars.

During the daytime, these animals prefer to rest in the trees, and they try to take small walks at night, which is a safer option for them. During the day, koalas eat about a kilogram of eucalyptus leaves.

Koala breeding

Koalas breed once every two years, which makes them not prolific animals. Usually, females during one period of pregnancy, which lasts a little more than a month, give birth to one, less often two cubs. Babies are not born large, their weight is only about 5 grams. The first time after birth, until about six months old, the cubs are in the mother's bag, which is on her back. Koala babies are very attached to their mother, and can make sounds similar to a crying baby if they feel lonely.

At the same time, koalas are very quiet animals and, as a rule, do not make any sounds. On rare occasions, koalas scream. This happens to animals that are injured, left alone, or feel threatened. Only at the age of one year do they begin an independent life.

According to the results of the study, it was revealed that the koala's sense of smell is much better than vision. This feature allows animals to distinguish smells around with great accuracy. It is a highly developed sense of smell that helps them distinguish between varieties of eucalyptus and not eat too toxic. An interesting fact that these animals have fingerprints that practically do not differ from human fingerprints, even under an electron microscope.

koala guard

Unfortunately, koalas are currently on the verge of extinction. At the beginning of the 20th century, millions of koalas were exterminated by man for valuable fur. And now the very moment has come when much attention should be paid to the problem of preserving this unique order of animals.

A large number of research programs have been created around the world aimed at protecting these charming marsupials and their habitat. In Australia, to prevent the death of koalas under the wheels of cars, they stretch artificial vines made of ropes, connecting two trees together. And these cute fluffy animals enjoy using such bridges.

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Few people can remain indifferent when contemplating a charming animal that looks like a small bear cub. Although the Australian resident has nothing to do with them. Like many other inhabitants of Australia, the koala is a marsupial mammal. It was first described in 1798 when it was found in the Blue Mountains (Australia). Since then, the animal with a wide muzzle and small eyes, a curved nose, soft and silvery fur, and shaggy ears has been loved by many.

Koalas are descended from their closest relatives, the wombats. They are similar to them, but differ in softer and thicker fur, their ears are slightly larger, and their limbs are longer.

The sharp claws of the beast help it easily move along tree trunks, the shape and size of the limbs also contribute to this. On the hands of the front paws there are two thumbs, which are set aside, next to them are three more fingers. This design of the palms helps the animal to easily grasp branches, tree trunks and hold on to them tenaciously, and for young animals to hold on to their mother's fur. The koala, clasping a branch, sleeps on a tree, while it can even be held with one paw.

Interestingly, the papillary pattern found on the fingertips of koalas is very similar to human fingerprints, even an electron microscope can hardly detect the differences.

The size of koalas is very diverse. For example, a female living in the north can weigh 5 kilograms, and a male living in the south can weigh 14 kilograms.

In the photo, a koala eats eucalyptus leaves

Koalas eat only the bark and leaves of eucalyptus. There are over 800 species of these trees in the world, but these animals only eat the bark and leaves of 120 of them. Interestingly, for most animals, these trees are poisonous. Due to their unique digestive system, colas are eaten without tragic consequences. But furry animals try to choose eucalyptus trees growing on fertile soils along the banks of rivers. The leaves and branches of such trees contain less poison. In eucalyptus trees growing on poor, dry soils, there are more toxic substances.

The daily ration of this animal is 500–1100 g of food. At the same time, they mainly feed on softer and juicier young leaves. Koalas almost do not drink water, as eucalyptus leaves contain more than 90% of the liquid they need. Animals drink water only when they lack moisture in the leaves or they are sick.

Koala is almost immobile 18-20 hours a day. At this time, she grabs branches with her paws, sleeps or moves along the trunk in search of food, or chews on leaves, which she folds into the inside of her cheeks during feeding.
She jumps from tree to tree mainly to find food or escape from danger. Another unique ability of this animal is that it can swim. Koalas are rather slow, this is due to the peculiarities of their diet, since the leaves contain little protein. In addition, koalas have a low metabolism, it is 2 times slower than that of other mammals.

Sometimes, to fill the need for trace elements, koalas eat the earth.

Reproduction of koalas, the birth of cubs

The breeding season for koalas is from October to February. At this time, they gather in groups that consist of several females and one adult male. The rest of the time, each female lives on its own territory, leads a solitary lifestyle.

Koalas are pretty quiet animals. Loud cries can be heard only during the mating season. Eyewitnesses say that these sounds are similar to the grumbling of a pig, the creaking of door hinges, and even the snoring of a drunk person. However, females really like these sounds, and they respond favorably to the calling sound of males.

Another unique distinguishing feature of these marsupial cubs from other animals lies in the reproductive organs. The male has a bifurcated penis, while the female has two vaginas. Thus, nature has taken care that this species does not become extinct.

Pregnancy in koalas lasts 30–35 days. Most often, only one cub is born, which weighs 5.5 grams and has a height of 15-18 millimeters. Although there are cases of the birth of two. The baby is in the mother's bag for six months, this time he eats her milk. Over the next six months, he gets out of the bag, tenaciously clings to his mother's fur on her stomach and back, thereby "traveling" through her body.

For the next 30 weeks, he eats semi-liquid maternal excrement, consisting of a slurry of half-digested eucalyptus leaves. Here are the microorganisms valuable for the baby and necessary for his digestive process. After a month, the cubs become independent, but even before the age of 2–3 years they are with their mother.

Males enter sexual maturity at 3–4 years, and females at 2–3. They reproduce once every 1 or 2 years. Life expectancy is 11-12 years, although there may be exceptions, there are cases when koalas lived for 20 years.

In the wild, the marsupial has no enemies, most likely because its meat smells like eucalyptus. Animals are tamed pretty quickly, they are condescending to the person who picks up. But at the same time, one should not forget about the sharp claws of the animal, so you need to stroke it carefully.

Koala is like a child, when the beast is left alone, he can cry and yearn. In the wild, drought, fires, poachers destroy these touching animals. Cutting down eucalyptus trees also contributes to their extermination.

34-24 million years ago, when, judging by the fossil remains, there were at least 18 species of marsupial bears. Among them was such a giant as the Queensland koala. Koalemus which weighed half a ton. modern koala Phascolarctos cinereus, presumably appeared 15 million years ago.

The koala went unnoticed by the expedition of James Cook, who discovered the east coast of Australia in 1770. The first mention of him is found in the report of John Price, a servant of the Governor of New South Wales, John Hunter, on a trip to the Blue Mountains in 1798. Price writes that there is an animal in the Blue Mountains called cullavine, outwardly similar to a sloth. For science, the koala was discovered in 1802 by the naval officer Barralie, who discovered the remains of the koala among the natives and sent the preserved limbs of the beast to the governor of New South Wales, King. In June 1803, a live koala was caught south of Sydney, and on August 21, the Sydney Gazette published a detailed description of it. However, the koala did not receive a scientific name until 1816, when the French zoologist Blainville gave it a generic name. Phascolarctos- from Greek. phaskolos"leather bag" and arktos"bear". specific name cinereus(ashy) beast received for the color of the fur.

For about half a century, the koala was only found within New South Wales. In 1855 naturalist William Blandowski met him in Victoria and in 1923 O. Thomas in southeast Queensland. Recently, the koala also inhabited South Australia, but was completely exterminated here at the beginning of the 20th century. In Western Australia, the koala has not survived, although Quaternary remains indicate that it was also found here.

Appearance

Koala is a medium-sized animal with a dense build: its body length is 60-82 cm; weight from 5 to 16 kg. The tail is very short, invisible from the outside. The head is large and wide, with a flattened "face". The ears are large, rounded, covered with thick fur. The eyes are small. The bridge of the nose is hairless, black. There are cheek pouches.

The hairline of the koala is thick and soft, durable; on the back, the color changes from light gray to dark gray, sometimes reddish or reddish, the belly is lighter.

The limbs of the koala are adapted for climbing - the thumb and forefinger of the front and limbs are opposed to the rest, which allows the animal to grab the branches of trees. The claws are strong and sharp, able to support the weight of the animal. There is no claw on the thumb of the hind limbs. Koalas are one of the few non-primates to have a papillary pattern on their fingertips. Koala fingerprints are indistinguishable from human fingerprints even under an electron microscope.

The brood pouch in females is well developed, opening at the back; inside are two nipples.

Koalas are usually silent and only speak during the breeding season or in case of danger. The call of the male is described as "something between the snoring of a fat drunkard, the creaking of a door on rusty hinges, and the grumbling of something disgruntled pig." A frightened or injured koala screams and "cries" like a baby.

The size and color of this animal varies depending on the place of residence. So, the Victorian koalas are larger and heavier, they have thicker and denser dark gray fur, often with a brownish tint on the back. In tropical and subtropical Queensland, koalas are much smaller and lighter, their fur is rarer and shorter.

The appearance of the koala is a bit like a bear (hence its name - marsupial bear); and the rudimentary tail, the location of the brood pouch, and the dental formula bring it closer to wombats, with which it appears to have shared a common ancestor.

Spreading

Koalas are found in the east of Australia - from Adelaide in the south to the Cape York Peninsula in the north. The koalas of South Australia were exterminated already in historical time - in the 20s of the XX century, however, this state was again inhabited by individuals from the state of Victoria.

Lifestyle and nutrition

Koala with a cub

Koala eating eucalyptus leaves

The metabolic rate in the body of the koala is almost half that of most mammals (with the exception of wombats and sloths), which helps it compensate for the low nutritional value of the diet. On the day, the koala needs from 0.5 to 1.1 kg of leaves, which he carefully grinds and chews, accumulating the resulting mass in the cheek pouches. Like all mammals that feed on fibrous plant foods, koalas have a rich microflora in their digestive tract, including bacteria that convert indigestible cellulose into digestible compounds. The caecum, where the digestion process takes place, is extremely developed, reaching a length of 2.4 m. Poisonous substances, entering the bloodstream, are neutralized in the liver.

Social structure and reproduction

baby koala

Female koalas lead a solitary life and stick to their territories, which they rarely leave. In fertile areas, the areas of individual individuals often overlap each other. Males are not territorial, but even less sociable - when they meet, especially during the breeding season, they often attack each other, causing injury.

Only during the breeding season, which lasts from October to February, koalas gather in groups consisting of an adult male and several females. At this time, males often rub their chest against the trees, leaving odorous marks, and emit loud calling cries, sometimes heard from a kilometer away. Since fewer males are born than females, harems of 2-5 females gather around male koalas during the mating season. Mating takes place on a tree (not necessarily a eucalyptus).

Pregnancy lasts 30-35 days. There is only one cub in the litter, which at birth has a length of only 15-18 mm and a weight of about 5.5 g; occasionally twins. The cub stays in the bag for 6 months, feeding on milk, and then for another six months it "travels" on the mother's back or stomach, clinging to her fur. At 30 weeks of age, he begins to eat semi-liquid mother's excrement, consisting of a kind of gruel from semi-digested eucalyptus leaves, - in this way, microorganisms necessary for the digestive process enter the digestive tract of young koalas. The mother excretes this slurry for about a month. At the age of one year, the cubs become independent - young females aged 12-18 months go in search of sites, but males often stay with their mothers until 2-3 years old.

Koalas breed once every 1-2 years. Sexual maturity in females occurs at 2-3 years, in males - at 3-4 years. On average, a koala lives 12-13 years, although there are cases when they lived to the age of 20.

Population status and protection

Before the advent of Europeans, epizootics, droughts, and fires were the main cause of death for koalas. In the XIX-XX centuries, the koala became an object of fishing because of its thick fur. In 1924 alone, 2 million skins were exported from the Eastern states. The sharp decline in the number of this beast forced the Australian government to first limit, and in 1927 to ban the hunting of koalas, but only by -1954 their population began to gradually recover. Although the koala has been given the status lower risk(low risk), they continue to be threatened by fires, deforestation of eucalyptus forests, and ticks introduced to Australia from Japan and Indonesia. In Australia, the Lone Pine Koala Koala Park near Sydney and Kounu Koala Park near Perth have been established.

Notes

Media

Koala jumping from tree to tree

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010 .

See what "Marsupial Bears" are in other dictionaries:

marsupial bears- koalos statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas taksono rangas gentis apibrėžtis Gentyje 1 rūšis. Paplitimo arealas - R. Australija. atitikmenys: lot. Phascolarctos English. koala bears; koalas; native bears vok. Beutelbären; Koalas koala; ... ... Žinduolių pavadinimų žodynas

Koala is a small, cute, meek animal that lives on only one continent - Australia. In the Aboriginal language, the word "koala" means "does not drink." The animal really practically does not drink water, being content with the moisture contained in eucalyptus leaves. Its Greek-Latin generic name "Phascolarctos" means "marsupial bear". The koala was indeed called a bear for a long time, but it is not a bear, and it has nothing to do with bears, except that it looks like a fluffy teddy bear. In fact, the koala belongs to the marsupials, it is the only modern representative of the Koal family (Phascolarctidae).

Today, the koala is Australia's most beloved marsupial, one of the recognized symbols of Australia, but this has not always been the case. The first European settlers destroyed millions of these defenseless animals for the sake of thick fur. However, eucalyptus deforestation, drought and fires posed an even greater threat to the survival of the species. The threat to koalas peaked in 1924, when more than 2 million skins were exported. By that time, koalas had disappeared from South Australia and much of Victoria and New South Wales. As a result of public protest, a ban on hunting was introduced starting in 1944, and only after 10 years their population began to gradually recover. Currently, in a number of areas, in particular in the south of the range, the koala has again become a common species, and this animal is listed by the IUCN as causing the least concern. However, intensive deforestation poses a threat to northern populations.

Description and photo of the koala

The appearance of koalas is characteristic: the body is short and stocky, the head is large, rounded, with small eyes, large fluffy ears and a patch of bare skin on the nose. The tail is rudimentary, almost invisible from the outside. The color of thick and soft fur on the dorsal side varies from gray to reddish-brown; on the chin, chest and inner surface of the forelimbs, the fur is white. The ears are fringed with long white hair, the sacrum is covered with white spots. In the north of the habitat, the fur of the animals is shorter and less frequent.

The body length of a koala is 70-85 cm, weight is 7-12 kg. Males are more massive than females, they have a wider muzzle, and the size of the auricles is smaller. In addition, males have a scent gland on their chest, with which they leave marks on trees within their territory. Females have a pouch that opens backwards with two nipples.

The koala is remarkably adapted to a sedentary arboreal lifestyle. Its body is covered with thick fur, which protects the animal from bad weather and temperature fluctuations, which is very important - after all, koalas do not provide any shelters or shelters. Large paws are equipped with strongly curved claws, thanks to which the animal can easily climb the highest tree with smooth bark. The photo shows good views of the powerful and strong claws of the koala. If the beast plunges them into a tree, it will not fall down.

Climbing up the eucalyptus, the koala grabs the trunk with strong front paws, moving the body up and at the same time pulling the front limbs. On the hind legs, the first toe is opposed to the rest, the second and third are almost fused. On the front paws, the first and second toes are opposed to the others, providing a firm grip when climbing. The soles of the paws are bare, with a palpar pattern. An interesting fact is that the fingerprints of koalas are almost identical to those of humans.

In total, the koala has 30 teeth, three pairs of incisors and rudimentary fangs are preserved in the upper jaw. The teeth are well adapted to feeding on eucalyptus leaves, which contain a large amount of fiber. The chewed leaves undergo microbial fermentation in the caecum, which is the longest in relation to body length among all mammals (its length is 1.8-2.5 meters).

In the photo, the koala habitually absorbs the leaves of his beloved eucalyptus.

The brain of a koala compared to the size of the body is one of the smallest among mammals, only 0.2% of the total body weight. Scientists believe that this is due to adaptation to a low-calorie diet.

Where does the koala live?

Koalas live only in Australia, where they are found on many hundreds of thousands of square kilometers in the east of the continent from northern Queensland to southern Victoria. Populations of these marsupials are often separated from each other by wide expanses of cleared forests. Koalas have chosen humid mountain forests in the south, vineyards in the north, copses and semi-desert landscapes in western Australia. The density of populations depends on the productivity of the land. In the south, in rainforests, it reaches 8 animals per hectare, and in the semi-desert zone on a plot of 100 hectares, only one individual can live.

How does a koala live in nature?

The life of koalas is closely connected with the trees of the genus Eucalyptus, in the crowns of which they spend almost all their time. They spend most of the day (18-20 hours) sleeping, feeding takes 2-3 hours, the rest of the time the animals just sit. Only occasionally do they descend to the ground to run from one tree to another.

Koalas usually sleep during the day, but at night they are busy slowly absorbing eucalyptus leaves. The movements of the animals are usually very slow, lazy, although a frightened animal is able to move very quickly.

Koalas lead a sedentary lifestyle. Most are singles, they rarely live in pairs. Adult animals occupy certain areas of habitat. Under favorable conditions, these areas are relatively small: a male can occupy only 1.5-3 hectares, females even less - 0.5-1 hectares. In areas poor in vegetation, the plot of a male can be more than 100 hectares. The territory of a dominant male can cover the territories of up to 9 females, and also the territories of subordinate males. Each animal has several favorite fodder trees on its individual plot.

In nature, the koala lives up to 10 years, the maximum known life expectancy in captivity is 18 years.

What do koalas eat? Eucalyptus Diet

The leaves of the evergreen eucalyptus serve as a constant source of food for koalas. An adult eats about 500 grams of fresh leaves per day, and although more than 600 species of eucalyptus grow on the Green Continent, only 30 of them feed on koala leaves. In different regions, preference is given to different types of eucalyptus, but mainly those that grow in conditions of high humidity.

Such a diet may seem dubious at first glance, because eucalyptus leaves are inedible or even poisonous to most herbivores. They are poor in nutrients and contain a lot of indigestible fiber, as well as poisonous phenols and terpenes. However, these animals have several adaptations that help them cope with such inedible food. They do not eat some leaves at all, the toxic components of others are neutralized by the liver and excreted from the body. Since the diet is low in calories, koalas sleep up to 20 hours a day. They conserve water, and except in the hottest weather, they get the moisture they need from the leaves they eat. Thus, evolution has given koalas a source of food available all year round and also spared them food competition.

procreation

Koalas are polygamous, with a small number of males accounting for the majority of matings. But the details of the distribution of mating between dominant and subdominant animals have not been fully elucidated.

Both female and male koalas reach sexual maturity at two years of age. From this time, females begin to breed, while males start breeding 2-3 years later, when they become large enough to compete for the female.

The breeding season is in spring and early summer (September-January). At this time, males move over very long distances, and when they meet, skirmishes often occur between them. During "weddings" "grooms" constantly roar. These screams, consisting of loud breaths followed by gurgling exhalations, are meant to attract the attention of brides, as well as warn competitors. The call of one male usually causes a response from nearby relatives. During this period, males often mark the boundaries of their territory by rubbing their chest against trees.

The female brings in a year one litter from one, less often from two cubs. Pregnancy lasts 35 days. The cub at birth is extremely small - its weight is less than 0.5 kg. The newborn climbs into the bag, where it is securely attached to one of the two nipples. In a bag, a small koala spends about 6 months, where it grows and develops. For some time, the mother wears it on her back.

From the age of seven months, the baby switches to eating a special gruel from semi-digested eucalyptus leaves, secreted by the mother's digestive system, getting used to the food of adult animals. A young koala becomes independent by 11 months of age, but usually continues to stay close to its mother for several more months.

conservation in nature

In nature, the koala has practically no enemies, predators do not favor its meat, apparently due to the fact that it has a strong eucalyptus smell. Despite this, animals are often considered vulnerable. Although no one has officially recorded these marsupials, according to unofficial data, their number is from 40 thousand to 1 million. Habitat destruction is the main threat to most koala populations in the northern part of the range. But the situation is much more serious in the semi-desert regions of central Queensland, where about 400 thousand hectares are cleared annually for pastures and other agricultural needs. And although environmentalists are sounding the alarm and trying to stop the destruction of forests, this problem remains relevant for the agricultural regions of central Queensland.

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