Koala Bear Facts

Switch on national geographic or discovery channel on any given day, chances are that you will come across at least one footage of thick furry creatures sitting on eucalyptus trees munching away or most likely catching a nap. These gray or brown furred creatures are called koala bears. The biggest misconception about these docile creatures is that they are bears. They are not bears, seems strange, right!

Interesting Facts

Habitat
One of the most unknown koala bear facts is that they are not at all bears. They are closely related to kangaroos, as they too have a pouch where they carry their young ones. Yes, they are marsupials! The natural koala bears habitat is Australia. They are found all over the continent. One of the most interesting facts is that their fur varies from region to region. They live on eucalyptus trees, spend most of the day sleeping and feed on the leaves of the tree at night fall. Eucalyptus leaves are highly poisonous to other animals but koala bear's digestive system is immune to these leaves. Amongst the other facts is that they drink very less water as these animals get their fluids from the leaves of the eucalyptus trees.

Appearance
These animals weigh about 31 lbs for males and 11 lbs for females. They have a thick coat which changes from gray to brown with the change in season, so that they can get camouflaged easily. They have 5 fingers, out of which they have two thumbs to assist in climbing tress and grooming. The soles of their paws are padded and rough so that they don't slip off the trees. Amongst the other amusing facts is that these animals have a lot of fur padding on their bottoms, that they can actually sit on pointed sticks, without getting poked!

Baby Koala Bears
A female koala bear gives birth to one baby koala bear also known as joey, in a year. When they are born they have less hair, they are blind and about the size of a jelly bean. They crawl into the mothers pouch and stay there for six months, drinking milk. Once they start exploring the world outside the pouch, they start feeding on 'pap', which is necessary to get the joey's body used to the eucalyptus leaves.

Behavior
Koala bears sleep during the day, yes they are nocturnal creatures. Another most amusing facts is they sleep for about 18 hours in a day. They are silent shy creatures but are known to make loud calls during the breeding season which is between the months of September and March. They have slow metabolic rate and thus, sleep long hours to conserve energy.

Koala Bears as Pets
Who wouldn't like to keep these fuzzy creatures as pets, but the bad news is that it is illegal to keep koala bears as pets. Only research scientists and animal protection activists can keep them as pets, that too only a sick or a young joey but they have to return it to its natural habitat once it is well. For the survival of this species, it is very necessary that they live in the wild.

One of the saddest facts is that these animals are endangered, their habitat is under constant threat from logging and farming. They are also under the danger of getting killed for their fur and by dogs. Koala bears are protected animals and we must do everything possible to save the koala.