Koalas are Australian marsupials. The word “koala” comes from the Aboriginal language and means “without water”. They are often called bears, but they have nothing to do with them. Here are some more interesting facts about these very interesting animals.
Koalas can keep food in their stomach for more than 8 days
Koalas feed mainly on eucalyptus leaves. To get more energy from this food, the koala ferments some of its food in its gut. The facts about the koala teach us that it does not ferment eucalyptus leaves in its stomach. The fermentation occurs in the part after the small intestine during digestion in the large intestine.
As the koala digests the food it eats, the bacteria break down the vegetative material and release more nutrients that the koala takes in for energy. Despite this extra energy, it eats quite poorly. The facts about the koala show that the animal has evolved to have a slower metabolism and smaller brain size to compensate for the nutrient-poor diet.
Koalas only really like 30 of the 600 varieties of eucalyptus
Although there are more than 600 species of eucalyptus, this animal only really likes to eat about 30 of those species. Koalas like to consume high-protein eucalyptus species.
It is a common myth that koalas only eat eucalyptus leaves. Koalas actually feed on a variety of trees, including tea tree and acacia. However, the koala’s diet consists mainly of eucalyptus leaves.
Koalas get much of the water they need from the food they eat. Female koalas can only survive on water from the leaves they eat! This is one of the most amazing facts about the koala. However, male koalas need to drink a little more water than they take in through food.
Koalas sleep 20 hours a day
It is thought that only cats really know how to doze off, but no! Facts about cats tell us that cats sleep up to 16 hours a day. But the koala won that contest. Koalas sleep longer than cats, even 20 hours a day!
This is due to the nutrient-poor diet of koalas. This animal has adapted to use very little energy. One of the ways it does this is by feeding only 4 hours a day. The rest of the time she rests and rests.
When it comes to finding a place to nap, this is not a problem for a koala. Most koalas eat and sleep in the same tree. Perhaps this explains why koalas are photographed so often. They are in the same tree for more than a day and don’t move around much.
Koalas spend only 15 minutes a day hanging out
Socializing can sometimes take your energy away! These animals are not very social. The koala spends only 15 minutes a day socializing.
Sleeping maybe 20 hours a day and foraging for food the remaining 4 hours doesn’t leave much free time in the koala’s “chat” schedule. This is not due to lack of opportunities. There are residents on their territory as well as passersby moving from territory to territory.
There are 40 compounds secreted by the koala’s mammary gland
Koalas have complex behaviors when responding to odors that they exhibit during their normal activities.
When a male koala explores a new tree, he begins smelling the underside of the tree to look for scent trails from other males. He then climbs a tree and rubs his chest against the tree, marking the tree with secretions from his chest.
There are 40 different compounds that have been identified in the secretions of the koala’s mammary glands.
Koalas are born only 30 days after conception
Koalas, like kangaroos, are bulged and have a short gestation period. This means that babies are born relatively quickly after conception and are much less developed compared to newborns of other large mammals. The koala is born only 33-35 days after conception.
When a koala is born, it is blind and hairless. However, the mother koala has a pouch in her body that protects the newborn during its development for another 6 or 7 months. The pouch also contains mother’s milk, which the koala uses to begin its diet.
Westerners discovered the koala in 1798.
The koala has been a part of the native culture in Australia for thousands of years. Many myths and legends from the Aboriginal culture in Australia were based on this animal. Due to their lack of movement, staying in a tree all day and sleeping 20 hours a day, koalas were an easy source of food.
In the beginning, the koala was supposed to be a bear, and its scientific name was “phascolarctos cinereus”, which means “gray baggy bear”. Later it was realized that koalas belonged to a special group of animals found mainly in Australia and New Guinea, known as baggers.
Koala-like animals are more than 25 million years old
The koalas we know today are highly specialized herbivores that have adapted to a nutrient-poor diet in an arid environment. Koalas get most of their water from the leaves they eat and lead relatively inactive lives.
Facts about the koala show that its ancestors may have been different. The Australian continent separated from Antarctica 45 million years ago. 25 million years ago koala-like animals began to