Koala in australia only

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For the following six weeks, the joey is weaned on pap, a pre-digested eucalyptus substance that is consumed directly from the mother’s anus.

After the weaning period, the joey lives on its mother’s back until it’s about one year old. Plus, by consuming eucalyptus leaves, koalas help control the dried leaf debris on the forest floor, lowering the likelihood of intense fires that can devastate ecosystems.

Eucalyptus trees are efficient carbon dioxide absorbers, so by maintaining the health of eucalyptus forests, koalas indirectly contribute to carbon sequestration, which helps mitigate global warming and climate change.

What is a koala’s scientific name?

The koala’s scientific name is Phascolarctos cinereus.

Unless they’re breeding, koalas tend not to visit each other’s home range of trees.

Younger breeding females tend to give birth to one baby koala—known as a joey—per year. Through their selective feeding habits, koalas shape the composition of the forest’s vegetation, promoting the growth of certain eucalyptus species over others.

They are marsupials and the only member of the Phascolarctidae family. They’re usually only two centimeters long, blind, deaf, and furless. Koalas sleep up to 18 hours a day

Despite the rumours, koalas don’t ‘get high’ or ‘drugged out’ on eucalyptus leaves.

Explore WWF-Australia’s ‘My Backyard’ tool to learn what wildlife makes their home near you and how well they're being cared for.

Common name	Koala
Scientific name	Phascolarctos cinereus
Type	Mammalia (mammals)
Diet	Eucalyptus leaves
Average lifespan	Between 10-18 years
Size	Southern koalas (Victoria and South Australia): females weigh 7kg–11kg, males 9.5–14.5kg; northern koalas (Queensland and New South Wales): females weigh 4kg–7kg, males 4kg–9kg

Conservation status (Australia): Endangered in Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory

There’s nothing more Aussie than a koala up a gumtree, and this much-loved marsupial is found nowhere else in the world.

Koalas can be found in southeastern and eastern Australia

While koalas are a national symbol of Australia’s unique wildlife, they can only be found in the wild on the southeast and eastern sides of Australia, along the coastlines of Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria. It’s because the leaves are so low in nutrients that koalas need more sleep than most animals which basically helps them conserve energy.

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Many koala populations are vulnerable to Chlamydia and it usually manifests when they’re in stressful situations. Koalas have a long caecum – a pouch-like structure near the large intestine – that allows them to digest eucalyptus leaves that are high in fibre.

Habitat

Koalas occur in eucalypt forests and woodlands.

Distribution

Koalas are found along the east coast of Australia from northern Queensland to southern Victoria as well as south-eastern South Australia.

Their front and hind feet have opposable digits adapted to help them grip and climb trees. Cinerus is a term of Latin origin that describes ashy grey.

Their common name, koala, is thought to come from the Dharug people, from a term meaning ‘no water’. Breeding occurs during summer and usually one baby, or joey, is produced each year.

Further north in Queensland, koalas only reach about half that size.

They have a highly selective diet—koalas mainly feed on eucalyptus tree leaves, which provide them with both nutrition and water. The koala will be fully weaned when it’s about 12 months old and will forage in a home range that overlaps with its mother’s.

The eucalypt leaves are high in fibre and the Koala has a long caecum (part of the large intestine) to aid with digestion. The joey won’t poke its head out of her pouch for another 22 weeks.

The juvenile koala is slowly weaned from milk by feeding on an unusual soft liquid faeces called pap from its mother. While they might look bear-like with their round ears and big black nose, they actually share more characteristics with other marsupials like the wombat.

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After a full six months in the pouch, the joey then hitches a ride on mum’s back or abdomen but still returns to the pouch to drink milk until it grows too big to fit! Baby koalas are too cute (this is indeed, a fact).

Called ‘joeys’, baby koalas develop in their mother’s pouch for about six months.

Their special fibre digesting organ, called a caecum, helps to detoxify the chemicals in the leaves.

However, they can be quite picky eaters, eating less than 50 of 800 eucalypt species.