|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Koala can get many deadly diseases. Chlamydia,Cystitis Conjunctivitis, Leukemia, and Psittacosis are some of these illnesses.
Psittacosis is also known as ornthosis or parrot fever. Psittacosis is usually acquired by breathing in the dust from the feathers of an infected bird. These diseases are transmitted by various species of birds that harbor the bacteria in their cells.
Chlamydia is one of the diseases that the koala can catch. The symptoms of this disease are sore eyes, chest infections, and "wet bottom" or "dirty bottom".
There are three speices of koalas: The Victoria Koala, The Queensland Koala, and the New South Wales Koala. The Victoria Koala lives in the coldest part of Australia. The Victoria Koala has very thick and shaggy fur to keep warm. The dark color helps absorb the sun's heat. The Queensland Koala lives in the warmest parts of Australia and has the thinnest fur of all the koalas. The New South Wales Koala has a darker grey coat than the Queensland Koala, and the fur is thicker. All of these types koalas live in different places of Australia.
The word marsupial comes from a Latin word marsupiam meaning "pouch". Marsupials are animals with pouches. They are related to kangaroos, opossums, and the wombat. Koalas carry their young in a pouch like all marsupials. Koalas, even though they are called Koala Bears, are NOT related to the bear!
It takes an average of 25 to 30 days for a koala to be born. When joeys (baby koalas) are born they are about 19 millimeters long and look like a pink jelly bean. They weigh one fifth of an ounce or 5.5 grams. At birth the tiny joey must make its way into the mother's pouch. They need to crawl from the birthing area to the pouch. By this time they are old enough to have a tight enough grip to stay on and not fall off. Soon after the joey comes out of the pouch, its old enough to eat eucalyptus leaves, along with a diet of mother's milk. When the joey is about one year old, it stops drinking the mothers milk and eats only eucalyptus leaves. At this time they are old enough to go out on their own.
Eucalyptus comes from two Greek words that mean "well covered". This probably refers to the tight-fitting cap that stays on the flower until its ready to bloom. Different types of eucalyptus trees grow in different parts of Australia so a koala in one part of Australia would have a different diet from one in another part of Australia.
There are more than 600 different types of eucalyptus trees in Australia. Eucalyptus trees are very, very poisonous so they are a hazard to some animals. The koala, however, is not drugged by this tree.
The female koala generally lives longer than the male. The female lives about 12 years and the male lives about 10 years. The female lives longer because the male gets injured in fights. When the koala lives near the highway they live about 3 years.
