Koalas are the original representatives of the living world of Australia. Marsupial bears Marsupial bear that lives in trees

Now koalas live only in Australia - and not everywhere, but only in the southeastern part of the continent. Outwardly, they resemble small bear cubs: sedentary with thick short hair of a smoky gray or reddish color, small round, blind eyes, a flattened oval nose, a short tail and large, widely spaced ears with long hair at the edges.

Nowadays, koalas are one of the symbols of Australia, but once upon a time European settlers quickly pushed them out of Australia and at the same time almost destroyed them because of the rare beauty of their soft coat with three-centimeter fur. But these animals appeared on the mainland more than 30 million years ago, and according to the beliefs of the local aborigines, they were also once people.

How the animal appeared: the Aboriginal version

The ancient legends of the local aborigines tell about an orphan boy, Kub-Bor (Marsupial Bear), who, although raised by his closest relatives, did not like him very much, and therefore was constantly offended. The boy was taught to survive in the forest and get food. Therefore, he had no problems with food, but with water it was difficult, since Kur-Bor was constantly thirsty.

When one day all the adults went to hunt and gather food, forgetting to hide the buckets of water, a child saw them and gradually drank all the contents, leaving the tribe without water. After that, he climbed onto the eucalyptus and began to monotonously sing a song, from which the tree, on the top of which he was sitting, began to grow extremely quickly, and by evening it turned out to be the largest in the entire forest. And then the Daens (aboriginals) returned.

They found no water, but found a child hidden in a huge eucalyptus tree. At first they could not reach Kur-Bora, because the branches of the huge tree were extremely high. But then two of them managed to climb the tree. The boy was grabbed by them, beaten right at the top of the tree, and thrown down.

Naturally, Kur-Bor crashed to his death. But when the natives approached him, they saw that the boy gradually began to turn into a koala. Having completed the transformation, the animal came to life, rushed to the eucalyptus tree and climbed up.

The last words the Daen heard from the koala were that if he and others like him were killed in order to eat, they would only need to cook him whole. If anyone disobeys, its spirit will come out of the carcass of a killed animal and severely punish the offenders - such a drought will come that neither people nor animals will be able to survive it. Only koalas will survive, for which the moisture contained in eucalyptus leaves will be sufficient.

The koalas themselves, according to the beliefs of the aborigines, have not drunk water since then. Their ancestor, being a man, drank plenty of it. This belief arose for one simple reason: almost no one had ever seen these animals at a watering hole before.

Scientists' version

It is believed that the koala family appeared more than 30 million years ago, and consisted of at least eighteen species (some of which were thirty times larger than koalas). As for “modern” animals, they are much younger. Their age is only 15 million years.

Europeans discovered this animal at the beginning of the 19th century. These were the remains of a koala found among the natives. Officer Barralier discovered them, preserved them in alcohol and sent them to the Governor of New South Wales. And a year later, the animal itself was caught near Sydney.

At first, koalas were found only in the southeast of Australia, as well as in the south of the continent (but they were quickly exterminated there at the beginning of the 20th century in pursuit of profit). It is believed that these animals also lived in the west of the continent, as evidenced by the remains found there.

Characteristics of the species

Scientists still have not been able to clearly determine what species of animal the animal living in Australia belongs to. At first they thought it was a panda or a bear, then they decided that its relative was a wombat, a kangaroo or an opossum (all of them, like the koala, are herbivorous marsupials). But if the relationship does exist, then researchers have not yet been able to trace their roots.

Features of the animal

The koala itself is not a large animal. The weight of a large male from the southern part of the continent is about fifteen kilograms, a female from the north is ten kilograms less. The average length of an adult koala is about eighty centimeters.

The marsupial sleeps in trees approximately twenty hours a day. It is active at night, climbing the tops in search of leaves. During the day, even if the animal is awake, it sits motionless or sleeps, hugging the eucalyptus with its paws.

The animal has interesting characteristics that distinguish it from other animals, because of which it was classified as a separate species.

Paws

The koala's paws are ideal for climbing trees and allow an adult to easily grab tree branches and a baby to hold on to its mother's back. The animal sleeps only on the eucalyptus, tightly grasping the tree with its paws:

• The koala has two grasping fingers on its front paws, located slightly apart from the rest;
• The other three fingers are located along the hand;
• All fingers on the forelimbs have extremely strong claws;
• The big toe on the koala's foot does not have a claw (unlike the other four).
• All of the koala's fingers have fingerprints that are extremely human-like.

Teeth

The animal's teeth are designed to chew grass. That’s why their incisors are like razors and can quickly cut leaves. The remaining teeth are grinding, separated from the incisors by a wide gap.

Intelligence and acumen

Alas, modern koalas are stupid. If the brain of their ancestors completely filled the cranial cavity, then in the animals that have survived to this day, it is much smaller. According to one theory, this happened due to the fact that koalas feed mainly only on eucalyptus leaves and shoots, which contain an extremely low level of energy.

Therefore, the brain of modern koalas makes up only 1.2% of their total weight, and forty percent of the cranial cavity is filled with cerebrospinal fluid. Lack of intelligence negatively affects the lives of the animals themselves. For example, accustomed to seeking salvation in trees, they do not always consider it necessary to get down from them and escape from the fire. Instead, they only press closer to the eucalyptus trees.

Character

The koala is an extremely calm animal. He sleeps from 18 to 20 hours a day, the rest of the time he devotes to eating. The koala lives in a tree, and mainly descends to the ground only to move to another eucalyptus tree, which it is not able to jump to in the air.

They jump from eucalyptus to eucalyptus extremely easily and confidently. If they decide to flee, they are even able to break into a fairly brisk gallop in order to climb the nearest tree.

Nutrition

As for the slowness of the koala not in emergency conditions, this is primarily due to its diet. It feeds only on shoots and leaves of the eucalyptus tree. The koala's metabolism is two times slower than that of other mammals (except wombats and sloths) - this feature compensates for the insufficient nutritional value of eucalyptus leaves.

The question of why koalas prefer eucalyptus leaves puzzles many. Because eucalyptus leaves are not only fibrous and low in protein, but they also contain phenolic and terpene compounds and even hydrocyanic acid, which are extremely poisonous to almost all living organisms.

As for koalas, deadly poisons that enter the blood from the intestinal tract are completely neutralized by the liver. The animals have a very long cecum - almost two and a half meters (in humans - no more than eight centimeters). It is in it that poisonous food is digested. In the intestines of koalas there are many bacteria that process leaves into compounds digestible for the koala.

The animal eats about one kilogram of leaves per day, crushing and chewing them very carefully. And what’s interesting is that the resulting mass is stored in the cheek pouches.

Koalas do not eat leaves from every tree: their extremely good sense of smell allows them to choose only those plants with fewer toxic compounds. Therefore, out of eight hundred species of eucalyptus, koalas eat only one hundred and twenty. And then, when their nose tells them that the food has become too poisonous, they go to look for another eucalyptus suitable for themselves (if the koalas did not have the opportunity to change the tree in time, they often became victims of poisoning).

They give preference to trees that grow on fertile soil - they are less poisonous. To compensate for the lack of minerals in the body, animals sometimes eat soil.

Eucalyptus leaves are also a source of moisture for the koala. They drink water mainly during droughts or when they are sick. In Australia, these animals have recently been increasingly found near their swimming pools when they come to drink water.

Temperature

Koalas do not have a layer of subcutaneous fat that can protect them from the cold. Firstly, if the temperature is too low, their fur helps them out (their fur is water-repellent), and secondly, in order to retain heat, their blood circulation, like that of humans, slows down.

Communication

Koalas are considered almost the most defenseless and harmless animals in the world. They don’t attack anyone and have absolutely no idea how to defend themselves. If you hurt them, at best they will run away; most likely they will not hit or bite back.

But this animal can cry. And he can cry as long as the pain causes him inconvenience. And the koala cries like a child - loudly, tremblingly and hysterically. The same sound can also symbolize the presence of danger.

Koalas are surprisingly silent. Since they live quite far from each other, they use a fairly wide range of sounds to communicate with their own kind.

Males, in order to show their social and physical position, grunt in a peculiar way, and thus find out which of them is cooler (they are not going to waste strength and energy on fights, and if this happens, it is quite rare). Females scream much less often, but sometimes they are able to express aggression with roars and grunts, and also use this sound to express sexual behavior. But mothers and their cubs do not roar - they make quiet, quiet sounds, reminiscent of clicking (to “talk to each other”) or grumbling (if they are dissatisfied or irritated with something).

Cries during mating season

When the mating season begins, the males make a calling sound so loud that it can be heard a kilometer away. Interestingly, this sound is extremely loud and at the same time at a low frequency, which is not typical for small animals the size of a koala. They manage to produce it only with the help of the vocal cords that are located behind the larynx.

The female chooses a groom for herself based on these calling calls (in any case, preference is given to larger individuals). Despite the fact that the male’s songs remind us of the snoring of a drunkard, the angry grumbling of a pig or the creaking of rusty hinges, females extremely like such sounds and attract them.

The better the koala screams, the more brides he will gather, since there are significantly more females than males. In one season, one male can have about five wives.

Offspring

Koalas breed once every one to two years. Females start a family at the age of two, males at the age of three to four years.

The mother carries the baby for thirty to thirty-five days. Usually only one baby is born; twins are extremely rare. The length of a small koala is from 15 to 18 mm, weight is about five grams, while it is hairless and completely blind. Immediately after birth, the baby climbs into the mother's pouch, where he spends the next six months. To prevent the baby from getting hurt and falling out, the “entrance” to the pouch is located not at the top, like in a kangaroo, but at the bottom.

At first he feeds on mother's milk. She gets used to it gradually, and the transitional food is quite original: the mother regularly excretes special feces in the form of a liquid porridge from semi-digested eucalyptus leaves. The baby needs such food because it is the only opportunity to get the microflora he needs, since bacteria live in the mother’s intestines that help the body cope with food that is indigestible for the baby’s stomach.

True, this diet does not last long; after a month he begins to feed on the leaves themselves, and at the age of seven months he moves from the pouch to his mother’s back. The grown koala finally leaves its mother's embrace at one year. But not all of them leave: while young females go to look for sites for themselves, males quite often remain to live with their mother for up to three years.

Dangers

Typically, a koala lives from eight to thirteen years (although in captivity there have been cases where animals lived to be twenty). Their number for some time (until the Australian authorities began to solve this problem) was declining very quickly. If at the beginning of the 20th century the number of koalas was 10 million individuals, then after a hundred there were only 100 thousand left, most of which live in private territories. According to various sources, only 2 to 8 thousand of them live in the wild.

In nature, koalas have practically no enemies - apparently, the animal, imbued with the eucalyptus aroma, scares away enemies with its smell. Only people eat them, and wild dingoes can attack animals, but this is also a rare occurrence, because koalas rarely go down, and dogs do not jump in trees.

Just recently, these animals were on the verge of extinction. The main reason is both human activity and their extreme susceptibility to various diseases.

Diseases

Koalas are quite sickly animals - apparently, the monotonous diet affects them. They are especially susceptible to cystitis, periostitis of the skull, and conjunctivitis. Sinusitis often causes pneumonia in them, which greatly reduced the population at the beginning of the last century.

The animals are also killed by the viral bacteria Chlamydia Psittaci, which is secretly considered to be the “AIDS” of koalas. They affect the ureter and eyes of animals, and if they are not helped in time, the disease will first lead to infertility, then to vision problems, and ultimately to death.

Fur traders

Even before the beginning of the 20th century, a huge number of koalas (more than one million) were destroyed by fur traders, after which there were almost no animals left. And only then (in 1927) the Australian government banned the trade in koala fur, and three years later – the import of their skins. This led to the end of the barbaric extermination of koalas, and their population began to gradually increase.

Deforestation

Due to continuous deforestation, koalas are forced to constantly go in search of new trees, so they have to go down. But they are not accustomed to life on earth, since they move here with difficulty, so they become easy prey.

Cars

Due to deforestation, koalas are increasingly finding themselves on highways in search of a new home. Cars rushing at high speed frighten them extremely, the animals become numb (the so-called “koala syndrome” - males are especially susceptible to it) and stop moving or begin to rush along the road. According to statistics, about 200 koalas end up under the wheels of cars every month - and, unfortunately, many of them die.

At the same time, the authorities are trying to solve this problem in a rather interesting way: they stretch artificial vines over the highway, which connect the eucalyptus trees on both sides of the highway. The koalas appreciated this idea and willingly cross the highway.

Dogs

Once on the ground and seeing a wild dingo, the koala does not understand the danger and does not run away into a tree. As a result, she often ends up torn to pieces.

Fires

The trees where koalas love to live contain eucalyptus oil, thanks to which fires flare up extremely strongly and cannot be extinguished for a long time. The fire has completely destroyed more than one koala population.

Swimming pools

Many people will be surprised to learn how many koalas die after getting into the pool. Contrary to the popular belief that they drink absolutely nothing, they still come to water, but often not to the source, but to a structure created by human hands, which does not have the usual descents for animals. Despite the fact that they are excellent swimmers, koalas often drown when exhausted.

Drought

Due to drought, eucalyptus leaves turn black and dry out, so koalas deprived of water often die of thirst, especially those who live far from artificial or natural sources of water.

Animal rescue

If it were for the inactive activities of animal activists, we would only know about the koala from schematic drawings in their textbooks. They managed not only to push through several laws to protect these animals, but also to win over patrons who are willing to donate money to save the “teddy bears.”

In Australia, parks and reserves were created, special hospitals for these animals were organized with the latest equipment and highly qualified veterinarians. This is not much, but it helps - about 4 thousand animals are saved per year. About twenty percent of animals that fall into the hands of doctors survive.

Life in captivity

As already mentioned, most koalas live on private property, the owners of which have nothing against such a neighborhood. People are often captivated by the appearance of these cute fluffy animals that look like teddy bears, and they tame them. Koalas, although they like to be alone, are extremely friendly. They become attached very quickly, and if the person they are accustomed to leaves somewhere, the animal cries. If you pester them too much, koalas can begin to defend themselves with their teeth and nails.

Keeping a koala at home is not easy - those who want to have this animal will be required to provide it with at least one kilogram of fresh eucalyptus leaves per day, which is quite difficult. For example, in Russia these trees grow only in Sochi, but this type of eucalyptus is absolutely not suitable for koalas.

The koala is a cute small animal that lives only in Australia. Belongs to the marsupial family. This animal consumes little water, hence its name, the word “koala” means “does not drink.”

The koala's generic name is Latin for marsupial bear. But this animal has nothing to do with bears; it only looks a little like a fluffy bear. Look at the photo of the koala animal, they look very impressive.

The koala is considered one of the symbols of Australia. In ancient times, they were killed for their furry skin. Also, the destruction of eucalyptus exposed the koala to extinction. Later, a ban on hunting this animal was introduced.

Description

The koala's body is short, 70–85 cm, weight 7–12 kg. The head is large, round, with miniature eyes and fluffy ears, the nose is black, not covered with hair. The tail is almost invisible, it is also fluffy.

Everyone knows what color the koala is: the fur on its back is gray or brownish, and the fur on its chest is white. The hairs on the edges of the ears are white. In northern Australia, koalas have less fluffy fur. Males are larger than females, their muzzles are wider and their ears are smaller.

The koala's lifestyle is sedentary, so it is well adapted to this. The body is covered with thick fur, thanks to which the animal is protected from bad weather and temperature changes. This is important because koalas live in trees around the clock and do not have any shelters.

Note!

The paws have nails that are strongly curved for ease of movement along tree trunks.

The koala has thirty teeth. They are adapted to eating eucalyptus leaves with a lot of fiber.

The koala's brain in relation to its body is two tenths of a percent, which is very small compared to other animals. This is due to the low-calorie food of animals.

How does a koala live in the wild?

Koalas spend most of the day sleeping, up to twenty hours. The rest of the time is spent on feeding and moving. Animals very rarely descend to the ground.

Koalas sleep during the daytime. Koalas have slow and lazy movements. But if there is some kind of threat, the koala can move very quickly.

Note!

Koalas very rarely live in pairs; they are solitary animals. The lifestyle is sedentary. Every animal has its favorite trees to eat.

The life of a koala can reach 10 years in the wild. There are more in captivity.

What do koalas eat?

Eucalyptus has evergreen leaves, so koalas feed on them all year round. In one day, an adult koala can eat up to 500 grams of food. The animals do not feed on all types of eucalyptus, but only 30 out of 600.

For many herbivores, eucalyptus is poisonous and harmful. The koala is an animal with adaptations that allow eucalyptus leaves to be digested and absorbed into the body. This food is low in calories, so the animals sleep almost all the time.

Continuation of the family line

There are 7-9 females per male. Puberty occurs at the age of two years. The mating season takes place in late spring. This can be understood by the loud roars of the males.

Note!

In one year, the female brings 1-2 cubs. Gestation lasts 30-40 days. The cub weighs half a kilogram. The baby develops for half a year in the mother's pouch. Then the mother begins to carry him on her back.

The baby koala animal becomes independent at 11-12 months, but continues to live next to its mother.

Conservation in nature

Koalas have almost no enemies. Firstly, predators do not hunt them because their meat smells like eucalyptus. Secondly, in Australia there are no arboreal predators, and koalas live in trees almost around the clock

The number of koalas in nature can be up to one million. No one did any calculations. The main problem with the disappearance of koalas is deforestation; up to 400 thousand hectares of forest are destroyed every year.

What is useful and what is harmful

The koala animal is cute and kind, but it can harm and help a person as well.

Zoos love koalas. You can see many photos of koalas and people together. But breeders often conduct experiments on these animals.

Koalas are not harmed on purpose, but only due to lack of food. They can get out onto the road, which leads to accidents in transport, the color of the koala is gray, so they can sometimes be missed.

The koala is an unusual animal that has not been fully studied.

Koala photo

04/26/2016 at 13:13 Moscow time 7 899

The koala animal, or as it is commonly called the marsupial bear, is the only representative of its kind. He received comparisons with him due to his resemblance to the plush creature.

Its striking appearance brings it closer to a soft toy. The body of the animal is not large, its weight reaches 12 - 13 kg, with a height of 71 cm.

The koala has a flattened muzzle, impressive ears, covered with thick fur. A black, smooth, elongated nose can boast of its lack of hair.

The bamboo eyes are small in diameter and round in shape. The color is dark brown. The color of the fur coat can be ashy and even reddish, but it itself is short. The fur on the belly is lighter.

Another distinctive feature of the koala animal is its tail, barely noticeable on the body. The claws are sharp on the front paws - curved, the thumb and forefinger are spread out, which makes it easier to climb trees well, but they are absent on the toes of the hind feet. They swim great. They can even gallop to the desired object if they are unable to jump.

Koalas are constantly on the tree trunk. Much of the time they sleep or simply chew leaves. The bamboo bear can be found directly in the tropical forests. They inhabit the continent of Australia, mainly its southern and eastern region. They are endemic. That is, you will not see them anywhere else.

The Australian koala bear appeared more than 15 million years ago, but extermination at the beginning of the last century reduced the population, now you can’t find them in the West of the country

Many islands are inhabited artificially, transported from Victoria. Koala animals live near the coast, which dispels the popular myth that they do not drink water.

Nutrition

As mentioned above, the koala lives in eucalyptus plantations, and eats bark and greens containing toxic substances (fenoterols, hydrocyanic acid).

Endowed with a special sense of smell, mammals find young shoots where the level of toxicity is reduced. The microflora in the koala animal's stomach even copes with cellulose; the liver absorbs and processes toxic waste.

This, of course, does not exclude the possibility of poisoning, but still the risks are minimal. Receiving up to 90% of moisture from the leaves, the animals still come down to drink. Sometimes a koala may eat the ground to make up for the deficiency of important components.

The animal leads a solitary lifestyle and Fewer males are born. During the mating season from October to February, they gather in groups. For one male there are 3-4 females. They choose the strongest by smell. Fertilization occurs once every few years.

Bears offspring for a month and there is one, rarely a pair of cubs in the litter. Up to six months, a newborn koala feeds on breast milk and travels in its mother’s pouch, which opens in the opposite direction. After 7 months, eucalyptus pulp is added to the diet, which enters the baby’s body through the mother’s excrement. By the age of one year the baby becomes independent.

Enemies

Peace-loving animals do not have them. The meat of the koala animal is saturated with poisons, so predators are in no hurry to taste it. Except maybe dingoes.

People used to hunt, and many skins were transported to the east. Because of their gullibility, they were a good target. Their sedentary lifestyle and only 6 hours of wakefulness make them terribly phlegmatic. Natural disasters - droughts, fires - contribute to extinction.

The koala is a marsupial animal that lives on average 13 years; there are also old-timers - 20 years. They are susceptible to diseases of the eyes, respiratory system, and genitourinary system, which shortens their lifespan.

The koala animal is listed in the Red Book. To ensure growth occurs under natural conditions, reserves have been created even in California (San Diego).

1. Fingerprints are similar to human prints and cannot be distinguished even under a microscope.
2. When they are depressed, they make sounds similar to a baby crying.
3. The marsupial bear dies in fires without running away, they only hold on tighter to the tree trunk.
4. The brain of the beast is only 0.2% by mass.
5. But they can be tamed and become attached to humans.
6. They have an unusual structure of the genital organs, two pairs each in the female and male.

Koalas- endemic to Australia, the original representatives of the Koala family of the same name. Animals live on eucalyptus trees. They are only herbivores and true marsupials! They belong to the order of two-incisor marsupials. The natural habitat is mainland Australia. And only its southern and eastern parts. Previously, animals lived in the west and north, but this was before the arrival of Europeans to the mainland. Plus, koalas artificially populated the territory of Kangaroo Island.

The proper name of the family of small marsupial bears appeared as a transliteration from Darak. The word itself sounded like gula. But in the process of migrations through the wilds of English spelling, it began to sound like a koala. For a long time, the version was promoted that animals do not drink water, and their name, translated from the aboriginal language, means exactly this.

In Latin, the generic name of the animals is Phascolarctos. It combines two Latin roots - bag and bag. The meaning and appearance of animals, this is the name of the genus of marsupial bears, conveys perfectly. The name was suggested by Henri Blainville, a French specialist in animal anatomy and zoology.

Another conflict associated with koalas is caused by the external similarity of animals with representatives of bears. The first colonizers of the mainland, the English convicts, called them that - tree bear, local bear, koala bear. Although, in reality, real bears, koalas, and even people are united only by a common taxonomic unit - a class. In this case, the Mammals class.

The koala family is completely identical to the wombat family. The peak of their heyday, like that of all marsupials, fell on the Oligocene. The work of paleontologists has presented the world with about 18 different species of koalas. In Australia, they found the remains of their giant brother, which is 28-29 times larger than today’s typical animals. Common today, Phascolarctos cinereus has been delighting Aboriginal people, eucalyptus trees and Australia with its plush grace for the last 15 million years.

Their historical curiosities. Koala was overlooked by the captain of all times, James Cook himself. In those days, he opened the mainland to the world for the second time. Moreover, he did this precisely from the east coast, where animals are found in abundance. According to the expedition report, marsupial bears appeared in 1798. A certain John Price brought them there. And the scientific community received the remains of animals in 1802 in a jar of alcohol from the sailor Barrallier. He found the remains of an animal among the aborigines and became interested in them. A year later, a live animal was caught. It was described, drawn and published, a description with drawings, in a Sydney newspaper. Here the identity between koalas and wombats was revealed.

The geography of the family is as follows: the maximum distribution of the species is observed in New South Wales, individual specimens are found in Victoria and Queensland. Previously, there were koalas from the south of the mainland, but they did not survive to this day. At the beginning of the Anthropocene, in a different climate, koalas could be found in western Australia

In appearance, koalas resemble both small bears and very large wombats. Only their fur is thicker, softer and longer. Large round ears and elongated limbs. Long curved claws help support weight from 5 to 14 kg on tree branches. The limbs of koalas are perfectly adapted to life in the canopy. The hands of the upper limbs are divided into 2 parts. In them, 2 fingers in 2 phalanges and 3 fingers in 3 phalanges, closing, create an unbreakable lock that allows koalas to spend their entire lives in trees. Strong curved claws help them move better along, or migrate from one tree to another. The hind limbs are qualitatively weaker and shorter than the forelimbs.

As a curious fact, we can mention the presence of papillary lines on the fingertips. It is curious that koala fingerprints are very similar to traces taken by forensic experts from people.

The teeth are typical of the order of two-incisal marsupials. The same pattern as kangaroos and wombats. Sharp incisors, excellent at cutting leaves. A wide diastema separates them from the grinding teeth. The entire dentition is one hundred percent adapted for herbivorous food.

Another characteristic feature of marsupials is the binary nature of the genital organs. It is very clearly expressed in koalas. The forked penis in males, two vaginas that open the entrance to two clearly separated uteruses, cause delight among experienced and new zoology lovers.

A separate miracle is the brain of these animals. It is miniature, making up only 0.2% of the total weight of the animal. At the dawn of the evolution of the family, it was much larger and filled the entire internal cavity of the skull. Due to narrow specialization in the matter of food choice, the brain shrank, became shriveled and made koalas the negative leaders in the parameter of brain size among the order of marsupials.

Due to their specific lifestyle, animals are quite difficult to study. But in the zoo, some individuals lived up to 18 years.

They rarely make sounds when they are very scared or injured. Males make sharp calls during the mating season. Based on the strength and power of this sound, females choose the most worthy partner for themselves.

Koalas spend almost their entire lives, except for various unforeseen circumstances, in the crown of eucalyptus trees. During the day they are passive, spending time either sleeping or sitting motionless, clinging to a tree with their front paws. Thus, they spend about 16,17,18 hours a day.

If it is not possible to reach from the old tree to the new one, the koala reluctantly and very clumsily descends to the ground. But they jump from tree to tree deftly and gracefully. In case of danger, they climb the first tree on the way with lightning speed. By the way, koalas can swim.

The general passivity of animals, according to scientists, is associated with the peculiarities of the nutritional regime.

Specialization exclusively on eucalyptus leaves and shoots manifested itself in a decrease in brain volume and some inhibition of all processes in the body. This occurs due to the body's tendency to not digest the poisonous, phenolic and terpene compounds of eucalyptus leaves.

Interestingly, eucalyptus leaves contain hydrocyanic acid to varying degrees, which is poisonous to any animal. Koalas are less sensitive to its effects than other animals, but this does not mean that they cannot be poisoned. It’s just that koalas in different seasons of the year choose those types of eucalyptus in which the content of hydrocyanic acid is currently minimal. There are known cases of poisoning of koalas when they were deprived of the opportunity to change the source of food. There is another prejudice associated with the diet of koalas. As we have already said, it is believed that these animals never drink, but in fact, koalas, although infrequently, still drink water.

Koalas have practically no competitors for such food, except for the flying squirrel and the ring-tailed possum. They are also marsupials and also like a small dose of hydrocyanic acid and phenol compounds for breakfast.

Although animals avoid overdosing with poisons and choose plants with reduced concentrations. Those eucalyptus trees that grow near rivers are less toxic on fertile soils. Of the 800 species of eucalyptus trees, only 120 species are eaten by koalas. A developed sense of smell helps animals navigate the level of poisons.

Due to the above nutritional features, koalas the rate of metabolic processes is several times lower than that of ordinary mammals. Only wombats and sloths are also slow and inhibited. In one day, a koala eats from 0.6 to 1.1 kg of eucalyptus leaves. Before swallowing, she crushes and chews them, and the chewed plant mass, as in a depot, “settles” for some time in the cheek pouches. Like all animals that specialize only in plant foods, marsupial bears have many bacteria in the lower parts of their digestive system. This vital microflora helps to do an almost impossible thing - cellulose, which is not digested, it breaks down into digestible compounds. The cecum, in which the main enzymatic and bacterial processes occur, is greatly hypertrophied. It reaches a length of about 2.4 m. Poisons that are washed into the blood are then neutralized by the liver.

Although, one version of the origin of the animals' proper name means “not to drink,” but animals remove dew from leaves and squeeze moisture from eucalyptus leaves. In case of severe drought or numerous diseases, koalas are forced and reluctant to descend from the trees and go in search of water. Koalas relieve the lack of minerals and other substances in the body by eating soil.

Koalas are solitary by nature, both females and males. They do not have a clear territory. Only during the breeding season do animals gather in a kind of harem. They include one male and several females - from 2 to 5 pieces. They attracted the females by the smell that remains on the trees, against which the males rub their chests. In addition to smell, females react to the strength and power of calling calls. Having chosen a male by smell and cry, females agree to mating, which takes place in a tree.

Pregnancy in koalas lasts 30-35 days. Most often this is one cub. Females are born more often than males. It is very rare for koalas to give birth to twins. Babies weigh 5.5 grams. Their length is up to 2 cm. After birth, they sit in the pouch for six months, feeding on milk. In recent months, they get out of the pouch and travel around the groves of eastern Australia, sitting on their mother’s back or stomach. At 30 weeks, the cubs begin to eat their mother's excrement. During this period, the female begins to excrete unconventionally liquid excrement. This is a long evolutionary path. It allows the introduction of microorganisms necessary for the digestion process into the intestines of the cubs.

After a year, females go in search of their personal area with eucalyptus trees, and males live near their mother for another 1-2 years.

Koalas breed only once every 1-2 years. Females enter puberty at the age of 2-3 years, in males - at 3-4 years. On average, a koala lives 12-14 years, although in zoology there are cases where animals lived up to 22 years of age.

Before settlers from Europe arrived in Australia, koalas died mainly from epizootics, various inflammatory processes, fires and drought, which is not uncommon in the tropical and subtropical climate zone.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, koalas began to be hunted because of their attractive color and fairly thick fur. In 1924 alone, 2 million koala skins were exported from the east of the country. Because of their gullibility and slowness, these animals were very easy prey for any hunters.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a global introduction of animals to Kangaroo Island was carried out. Over the course of a century, without natural enemies, in favorable climatic conditions, koalas multiplied. The food supply quickly depleted on a small island and this caused concern among the government and environmentalists of the state of South Australia. The government was afraid to shoot animals, because it could damage the country’s image.

To study and popularize the species, Koala parks were created on the mainland. One near Brisbane, the other near Perth, and also on Kangaroo Island, where the animals were brought for settlement. In Australia, the Koala Foundation was founded, which monitors the state of the koala population, preserves its numbers and protects the animals’ natural habitat.

In captivity, they show touching affection for their caregiver, which is quite unexpected, because in general koalas do not have a high level of intelligence.

Such cute habits leave no one indifferent, and koalas are deservedly popular among both adults and children. In zoos, koalas attract crowds of enthusiastic observers near their enclosures; they are a favorite object for making souvenirs and children's toys. But it was not always so. At the beginning of the twentieth century, they were intensively hunted. Although koalas are not suitable for the role of an honorary trophy, because hunting them is no more difficult than shaking apples, they were killed en masse for the sake of their thick, pleasant-to-touch fur. As a result, the population of these animals decreased to a critical size, and only after that people came to their senses and began breeding them in captivity. Breeding koalas in captivity is not an easy task.

The main difficulty is that in zoos it is difficult to provide koalas with natural food - fresh eucalyptus leaves. Therefore, koalas are kept mainly in zoos located in areas with a mild climate, where it is possible to grow eucalyptus trees in open ground. The greatest successes in breeding these animals have been achieved by zoos in Australia and San Diego (California).

Inhabitant of eucalyptus trees. Yes, yes, this is exactly how you can briefly talk about koalas. These medium-sized marsupial cubs live in, and after artificial settlement by humans, their populations appeared on the island.

Koala a herbivore belonging to the class of marsupials. There is an opinion that the name koala, translated from the Aboriginal language, means that they do not drink water. Koala, photo which is presented below, still drinks water, she especially likes to collect dew from eucalyptus leaves.

This name for the animal was proposed by the Frenchman Henri Blainville, who is a specialist in the field of zoology and animal anatomy. The first inhabitants of the mainland called the koala tree bear.

Koala is often called tree bear

History of koalas

Koalas belong to the koala family, which are absolutely identical to the family. Modern paleontologists count about 19 different koala species and the most common species at the moment is called Phascolarctos cinereus, which in Latin means moving through trees.

The geography of the bear cub is not great. Koala lives and breeds actively in New South Wales. Some species of koalas are found in Queensland and Victoria. At the very beginning of the anthropogenic period, with a completely different climate, koala bear also lived in western Australia.

Appearance and character of the koala

The appearance of koalas is similar to very large wombats or small ones. However, their fur is much longer, thicker and softer to the touch. Koalas have elongated limbs, which helps them move through trees with ease.

They have large rounded ears and long arched claws that are capable of holding individuals weighing from 5 to 15 kilograms. The koala's upper paws are divided into two parts and are perfectly adapted for living in trees. The lower legs are much shorter and weaker, but this is not a disadvantage.

One of the interesting features is the koala's paw print, because it is absolutely identical to the human fingerprint. Koala teeth are the same format as those of a kangaroo or wobmate. Sharp and strong incisors, easily cutting leaves, are typical of the order of two-incisor marsupials.

Koala fingerprints are identical to human prints

Koalas are endowed with another unique feature. We are talking about the binary nature of their genitals. In koalas it is very pronounced. Females have two vaginas that lead to two separate uteruses. Males, in turn, have a forked penis, and these unusual features delight inexperienced lovers of the animal world and zoology.

It is also impossible not to note the record small brain of this animal. It makes up only two tenths of a percent of the koala's total weight. Experts believe that at the beginning of evolution it was much larger, but due to little activity when choosing food, the brain shrank and made the koala one of the negative record holders in the brain size competition among representatives of marsupials.

The lifespan of a tree bear cub reaches 18 years. Koalas very rarely make sounds, with the exception of situations when the animal is frightened or injured. Males scream during mating periods, as the female chooses the loudest and most powerful male for herself.

Lifestyle and nutrition of koalas

Koalas spend most of their lives in the canopy of trees, mainly eucalyptus. During the day, these animals are passive; they can sit or sleep on a tree for up to 15 hours, practically without moving. In cases when it is not possible to reach a neighboring tree in order to move to another branch, the koala slowly and reluctantly descends to the ground, as if fighting laziness.

However, in case of danger, the animal can quickly climb a tree and jump to another. Koalas are also capable of crossing water, but some force majeure circumstance may force them to swim; they will not do this for pleasure.

Koala is one of the laziest animals

According to scientists, such active passivity of this animal is due to the abundance of food, which does not require unnecessary movements to obtain it. By feeding on leaves and young shoots of eucalyptus, all processes in the koala’s body are inhibited. This is due to the fact that all the effort and energy goes into processing poisonous eucalyptus leaves, which contain phenolic and terpene compounds.

And eucalyptus shoots contain a high concentration of hydrocyanic acid. In addition to koalas, they also eat such poisonous food, so the competition is not great, and accordingly, why bother. So the koalas rest peacefully on the branches.

Social structure and reproduction of koalas

Koalas are solitary by nature and nature. They do not create families, they each live on their own. This applies to both females and males. They do not have a clear, protected territory, and only during the mating season and for reproduction, koalas gather in separate groups, such unique harems.

They consist of 3-5 individuals, one is male and the rest are females. The females were attracted by the scent of the male, which remained on the branches. The male rubs his chest against the branches, releasing breathtaking odors for the opposite sex.

The cry of males is also important. Females choose the appropriate scent and cry of the male for themselves and agree to mate. The whole process also takes place on wood. A month after conception, the female gives birth to one cub; twins are very rare and females are born more often than males.

Newborn koalats weigh about 6 grams and their body length is about 2 centimeters. For the next six months, the babies stay in their mother’s pouch, feeding on milk. They then settle down on the back or stomach of their parent and roll around there for some time. At 30-31 weeks, babies feed on the mother's feces, which begins to produce unusually thin and soft excrement.

Why do they do this, you ask? It turns out that this process is necessary for the subsequent digestion process of an adult koala. This is how the microorganisms needed to process poisonous eucalyptus enter the digestive system, namely the intestines.

In the photo there is a koala with a baby

A year later, young females go to develop their own area with eucalyptus trees for an independent life, and the males spend another year or two next to their mother, until they reach full puberty, and only after that they part.

On average, koalas live for about 14 years. Bears breed once every 1-2 years. There have been recorded cases of koalas living up to 21 years. In Russia, the koala can only be found in the zoo. You can also see below video about koala.