The koala is an arboreal, herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. Koalas live in coastal, Eastern and Southern Australia. People come from all over the world to see koalas at wildlife parks and zoos.
Koalas have grey and white fur with fluffy ears and a large, black button nose. These cute animals also have long sharp claws. An adult koala is 60cm to 85cm long and weighs up to about 15kg.
They live in eucalyptus forests and sleep curled up in forks of trees. They feed on gum leaves while moving at night very slowly from branch to branch. They only walk on the ground to cross over to trees. Koalas rarely drink water and the name ‘koala’ was used by Australia’s aborigines to mean ‘no drink’.
Female koalas give birth to only one baby at a time. When the baby is born it crawls slowly to its mother’s pouch drinking her milk and stays for about six months. When a baby koala comes out of its mother’s pouch it is a cute, furry little animal with sharp claws.
Koalas are mammals that give birth to underdeveloped young. An animal which has a pouch is called a marsupial. Koalas are marsupials. Marsupials include kangaroos, wallabies, wallaroos, wombats, possums and opossums.
Janiru Dissanayake
Grade 9-L
Royal College
Colombo
