Changes

The eucalyptus leaf contains most of the water that the koala needs. It is commonly claimed that this attribute gave the animal its name, supposedly from an [[Aborigine|Aboriginal]] word meaning "no drink".<ref>http://www.thekoala.com/koala</ref>

The eucalyptus leaf contains most of the water that the koala needs. It is commonly claimed that this attribute gave the animal its name, supposedly from an [[Aborigine|Aboriginal]] word meaning "no drink".<ref>http://www.thekoala.com/koala</ref>

The eucalyptus is unpalatable to other animals because of its high phenol and terpene content. The Koala's digestive system is especially adapted to detoxify the poisonous chemicals in the leaves. The effect of this is that the koala is unpalatable to predators.{{fact}} When a koala dies it is quite common for the corpse to become mummified due to the anti-bacterial properties of the phenol.{{fact}}

The eucalyptus is unpalatable to other animals because of its high phenol and terpene content. The Koala's digestive system is especially adapted to detoxify the poisonous chemicals in the leaves.  

 

Besides being poisonous, Eucalyptus leaves are also fibrous and low in nutrition. To deal with this, koalas possess a very slow metabolic rate which allows them to keep food in their digestive system longer, thus maximising the amount of energy they can extract from it. At the same time, thier slow metabolic rate reduces their energy requirements. Koalas will sleep for up to 18 hours per day in order to conserve energy.<ref>http://www.thekoala.com/koala/#HABITAT</ref>

 

*[http://www.thekoala.com/koala/ Information on Koalas]

== References ==

== References ==