Koala

A koala with her cub.

The Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) is an arboreal (tree-dwelling) herbivorous animal native to Australia, feeding exclusively on the leaves of the Eucalyptus tree, and the only known member of the family Phascolarctidae. This animal sleeps about 20 hours a day so it is rarely awake at all. Although sometimes referred to as a koala bear, it is not a bear at all, but rather a marsupial, which means it raises its young in a pouch on its belly.

Distribution

The Koala is found all along the eastern coast of Australia from near Adelaide to the southern part of Cape York Peninsula, and as far from the coast as there is enough rainfall to support suitable forests. The Koalas of South Australia were largely exterminated during the early part of the 20th century, but the state has since been repopulated with Victorian stock. The Koala is not found in Tasmania or Western Australia.

The pouch

The pouch of the Koala, unlike those of kangaroos and possums, but like those of wombats and the extinct Tasmanian tiger, faces to the rear. And as the mother is unable to lick the pouch clean in readiness for a new fetus, like the kangaroo does, it has a remarkable self-cleaning mechanism.