MARSUPIAL
- comes from the Latin word marsupium, meaning 'pouch’ – most, but not all, female marsupials have a permanent pouch in which to raise their young.
- marsupial means Koala is an arboreal (tree dwelling) and herbivorous (plant eating)
LIVE IN THE TREE
- Its body is lean and muscular and its comparatively long, strong limbs support its weight when climbing
- The front and hind limbs are nearly equal in length and much of the koala's climbing strength comes from the thigh muscle joining the shin much lower than in many other mammals.
- The koala’s paws are specially adapted for gripping and climbing. Rough pads on the palms and soles help it to grip tree trunks and branches, and both front and hind paws have long sharp claws. Each paw has five digits. On the front paw, two digits are opposed to the other three, rather like a human's thumb, so they are both able to be moved in opposition to the other three. This allows the koala to grip more securely. Distinctive parallel koala scratch marks on tree trunks are due to this particular characteristic.
Example of the claws
Example of how they climb the tree
FUR AS PROTECTIVE 'RAINCOAT'
- Koalas have thick woolly fur which protects them from the extremes of both high and low temperatures, and which also acts like a 'raincoat' to repel moisture when it rains. The fur varies in colour from light grey to brown
- Koalas in the south generally tend to have fur which is darker and thicker, and sometimes browner, than those in the north. These variations are gradual changes from north to south and there are some differences of opinion amongst scientists as to whether the variations mean that there are separate sub-species of the koala.
SIZE AND WEIGHT
- Koalas in northern parts of Australia are smaller, with males growing to 74 cm and weighing 9 kg, and females growing to 72 cm and weighing 7.25 kg.
- Southern koalas are larger. The males can grow to 82 cm and 15 kg whilst females can grow to 73 cm and 11 kg.
- Average 26 lbs/11.8 kg for southern males and 17.4 lbs/7.9 kg for southern females. In the north, males average 14.3 lbs/6.5 kg; females 11.2 lbs/5.1 kg. At birth young weighs only 0.5 gm. (This is no typo; it is amazing how small they are at birth, about the size of a bee.)
GESTATION PERIOD
- Koalas breed from September to February. Females breed from 2 years of age, and males from 3-4 years after they have established their own territory. Males are extremely aggressive during mating periods.
- Thirty-five days after mating, the female produces one joey weighing about 0.5 grams and about 2 cm long.
LIFESPAN PERIOD
- They can live for up to 18 years for females and a bit less for males.
- However, the average lifespan of a male in suburban areas is closer to 2-3 years. It suffers a high mortality rate from cars, as it is more likely than the female to wander. The lifespan of a koala changes according to different factors, including stress.
