Koalas
The first thing you need to know, is that koalas are not related to the bear. So there! A joey (a young koala) takes 30 days to be born. When the joey is born, he is the size of half a nickel. After he is born, the joey uses its strong front legs in order to crawl to the pouch, which opens from the back. Once inside the pouch, the joey attaches itself to the source of milk, the nipple. The joey stays there for 7 months. After the 7 months, the joey comes out of the pouch for the first time. He is 8 inches long and is covered with fur. Soon after the koala has come out of the pouch, he starts eating the eucalyptus leaves.
A full grown koala is 3 feet long, but most adults are 2 feet long. They weigh between 10 and 20 pounds and might live for 20 years in nature.
Eating Habits
Koalas are nocturnal animals and spend most of their time lounging in the fork
of a tree. When they get hungry, they can climb up to 150 feet (45 m) to the top of the eucalyptus
tree or leap to another tree. They are very fussy eaters and only eat 35 kinds of eucalyptus
leaves out of 600 kinds of eucalyptus
leaves! Sometimes they only eat 2 or 3 kinds!
Defense
Think those cuddly little koalas don't have a temper? Think again! They have very quick
tempers and if they feel intruded, they will either scratch the intruder with their long claws
or grind the intruder between their teeth. (Not exactly how you fight with a
sibling!)
Scientific Names
Scientific Names
The very complicated scientific name of a Queensland koala is Phascolarctos Cinereus Adustus. For a New South Wales koala, the scientific name is Phascolarctos Cinereus Cinereus and the Victoria koala's scientific name is Phascolarctos Cinereus Victor. And, as you may have guessed, the scientific name for the koala is Cinereus.
Lika: The Miracle Baby
Lika is definitely a science miracle and a life saver to the koalas and other endangered marsupials. What did she do? She was the first marsupial to be artificially born! What good will it do? Lots! Apparently the experiment the scientists did at Lone Pine, the first Australian Koala Park, was a lifesaver. They wanted to find out if it were possible to insert the sperm of a male koala into a female's egg and come out with a healthy little joey. It was! Now little Lika is happily munching and dozing at Lone Pine in Australia.
Lone Pine was the first koala park in Australia. They started out with just 2 koalas; Jack and Jill. Now they have over 300 marsupials.