Koala Bear Fact

For Koala Bear fact sheets you can surf the Internet and find lots of stories and pictures of these curious-looking animals. Koalas are not bears, but their teddy-bear look and slow movements make them very similar to little bears. Actually, the Koala is a marsupial typical of Australian forests. Its scientific name is Phascolarctos cinereus. Like other Australian marsupials, Koalas have a pouch on the belly where females keep and nurse their newborn cubs till they are able to start their independent life.

In the Koala Bear fact sheets, you’ll find basic information concerning the behavior, description, life cycle, and conservation status of the species. In fact, male Koalas are about 32 inches at the withers, while females vary from 26 to 29 inches. The weight of a typical Koala male is around 30 pounds; females weigh up to 21 pounds.

The Koala Bear fact that anyone knows is that these animals thrive on eucalyptus and cannot consume any other vegetation. Everything in these animals is adapted for the arboreal lifestyle. Their fur is dense and wooly to protect them from cold. The fur on the bottom forms a soft cushion to sit on. Koalas have five toes on the forepaws and curved claws, which provide for a firm grip. Koalas have to spend much time eating eucalyptus leaves and shoots. They are able to hang on the branches for several hours. Though looking massive and well-rounded in their dense coat, Koalas are very strong and lean. They are slow-moving on land, because their forelegs and hind legs are of the same length and the claws are not retractable. Besides, Koalas have to conserve their energy, because their diet is very low-calorie.

The Koala suffers much from habitat destruction. When the settlers destroyed eucalyptus woodlands for the sake of farmlands, Koalas had nothing to eat. Slow-moving animals with a dense wooly fur were an easy prey for hunters. Koalas don’t have natural predators, but feral dogs introduced by humans pose a serious threat to Koalas. Nowadays, the population of the Koala is fragmented. The opinions about the conservation status of the Koala differ greatly. Some scientists believe that Koalas are threatened, while other think there is nothing to worry about. It’s a well-known Koala Bear fact that this species is a symbol of Australia.