Mary Allen
Koalas are the role models for teddy bears. The silent marsupials spend their lives high up in eucalyptus trees.
Characteristics
What do koalas look like?
Although they are called koala bears, they do not belong to the bears at all, but to the Australian marsupials or marsupials. They are 61 to 85 centimeters tall. Depending on whether they live in warmer or cooler regions, they grow in different sizes and weigh different amounts.
In Victoria, they can weigh up to 14 kilograms, in Queensland further north where it is warmer they weigh a maximum of 8 kilograms. On average, females are smaller and lighter than males. The koala’s thick fur is brownish-silver-grey. The thick, dark nose and the large plush ears are typical. The head is relatively large in relation to the body. The females carry a pouch on their stomach in which the young grow up. The gripping hand is equipped with sharp, pointed claws so that the animals can climb well.
Where do koalas live?
Koalas are only found in Australia. They were originally very widespread. Only on the island of Tasmania in the south of the continent did they never appear. They were hunted for their fur and became extinct in many areas. However, some of them have been resettled. Today there are probably still 45,000 to 80,000 Ko
Koalas can only live in areas where various eucalyptus trees grow. It is also important that other koalas live nearby. That is why koalas can only be found in the sparse eucalyptus forests of Australia, where only a few other trees grow next to eucalyptus trees.
What types of koalas are there?
Only the koala belongs to the genus of koalas. Other marsupials that belong to the subfamily Koala relatives are ring-tailed limbers, giant gliders, pygmy gliders, and flying squirrels.
How old do koalas get?
Wild koala males live up to ten years, females up to 15 years. In captivity, they can live up to 19 years.
Behave
How do koalas live?
With their relatively small eyes, koalas always seem a little sleepy – and they are: they are even quieter than the South American sloths because they sleep up to 20 hours a day. They do this to save energy. They crouch in a typical position in a branch fork, which they hold so tightly that they cannot fall off even when they sleep.
Koalas are tree dwellers and mostly nocturnal. They only wake up in the evening. During the day they spend most of their time in trees. Only at night do they come down to the ground. Then the otherwise so sluggish animals can move quite skillfully and quickly on all fours. However, they only descend from their tree to look for a new tree.
Koalas are strong and good climbers. Their arms and legs are relatively long in relation to their body. The hands and feet with their claws are excellent grasping tools. If you want to climb a tree from the ground, jump up the trunk and dig your claws into the trunk. Then they pull themselves up with both arms and legs at the same time. When descending, on the other hand, they always put one foot in front of the other. But whether it’s going up or down, koalas always climb with their heads up.
Koalas are solitary animals that live in territories. They only come together during the mating season. Nevertheless, there is a kind of hierarchy between the individual animals whose territories overlap or border on one another. Koalas usually stay true to their territory throughout their lives.
Young koalas have to find their own territory when they are big enough. If a koala dies, its territory is usually taken over by another species
Friends and foes of the koala
The natural enemies of koalas are dingoes, owls, eagles, monitor lizards, and pythons.
The bushfires that occur during the dry season also kill many koalas. In addition, their habitat is destroyed by clearing, drainage, and the construction of roads and fences: if a koala’s territory is divided by a road or a fence, it simply stays in the part it is currently in and thus loses half of its territory. Because koalas are so slow, they sometimes get run over by cars.
How do koalas reproduce?
Koalas become sexually mature at around two years of age. In most cases, however, they only mate successfully one to two years later. Depending on the region, the mating season is between October and April. After a gestation period of 35 days, a single, naked, and blind young are usually born, only two centimeters tall. Immediately after birth, it crawls independently into the pouch on the mother’s stomach. It grows protected in its mother’s pouch. At 22 weeks, it opens its eyes and looks out of the pouch for the first time.
Finally, from time to time it leaves the pouch to lie on its mother’s stomach and feed there. When the young have grown, the mother carries it around on her back. In case of danger, however, it still seeks protection in its mother’s pouch. When they are 18 months old, the young koalas have to find their own territory. However, if the mother does not have a young again immediately, the offspring can stay close to the mother for two to three years.
How do koalas communicate?
Koalas can make sounds that allow them to communicate over fairly long distances. One of these sounds is a cry of fear, which sounds like an infant’s cry of fear. Males also let out a low-pitched bark when they want to emphasize their place in the hierarchy. Sometimes it also sounds like a pig’s grunt.
During the mating season, the males bark a lot, the females much less. The females exchange soft clicking and squeaking sounds with their young. Sometimes they also hum or mumble.