The genus is the only form pouched bear, koala, or, - P. cinereus GoldfuB, 1817. The largest member of the family. The body length of 60-82 cm. The tail is not visible from the outside. Weight adults up to 16 kg. External appearance is similar to a bear. The head is large. The ears are large, rounded, covered with thick fur. Nasal bridge hairless, black, sharply demarcated from the hairy areas. The longest finger on the forelimb fourth. The first and second fingers are opposed to the rest of the front paws. The coat is thick and soft on the dorsal side of the color varies from light gray to dark gray on the rump sometimes whitish spots, whitish belly. Brood pouch is well developed and open back (the identity nstvenny case in the family climbing marsupials).
Cheek bags are available. The number of chromosomes in a diploid 16.
KoalaObitaet in eucalyptus forests. Leading arboreal lifestyle. Very slow animals feeding on eucalyptus leaves of certain species. Activity night. Kept singly or in small groups. The adult male usually has a harem of several females. During the breeding season from September to early autumn. Duration of pregnancy 25 to 30 days. In one litter of pups at birth weighs about 5.5, the cub remains in the pouch for 6 months, then another six months spent with his mother. By the end of the lactation period marked by young koala eating excrement their mothers. Perhaps in this way in the digestive tract of animals mol odyh fall from adult organisms necessary for the digestive process. Sexual maturity occurs at 3-4 years. The life span of about 20 years.
Distributed in eastern Australia from northern Queensland to southern Victoria.
In recent years, the number of koalas strongly decreased, especially due to excessive fishing. Koala mined in large quantities because of the excellent fur (for example, in 1924 from eastern Australia were exported more than 2 million. Koala skins). Currently there is a ban on the production of a koala and their number increases slowly. Koala
Marsupial koala bear was, in fact, saved from extinction. If our brown and polar bears are harmless only plush version, this Australian bear to sensible self-defense is not capable of much more than a soft toy. No, anger, of course, and it can be, but is by nature a creature is so phlegmatic and slow-moving, that it almost became a victim of a light hunting enthusiasts: it difficult to shoot an animal that barely moved from branch to branch. Koala is quite easy to tame and very attached to people. Zoologists, to keep these animals at home, wrote that they can "cry" if left alone. Of course, these animals would have been welcome, probably in zoos around the world, but this all depends on the problem of their power.
Koala - one of the most famous and favorite Australian animals. It is also called marsupials bear, though koalas are not connected not with what type of bears.
In the language of Australian aborigines "koala" means "not drinking", as the koala does not drink water. They feed on eucalyptus leaves, the adult eats about one kilogram of leaves, and the liquid contained therein they have enough.
Koala weighs from 4 to 15 pounds and is 85 inches in length. Life expectancy - about 12 years.
Do koalas pear-shaped body, large round head with fluffy ears, small eyes and large black nose in the form of bulbs. Tail in no koalas. The animal is covered with a thick, sturdy ash-gray fur, because of which they are hunted. Paws koala - five fingers with huge claws, which he covers a tree trunk, so koala - an excellent climber. All his life he spent in the trees, sleeping on the branches for 18 - 22 hours a day, and down to earth only to go to a new tree, to which he did not jump. Koala sleeping in the forks of tree branches.
Koala - a solitary animal. Mother is very good care of their children, fathers do not take part in the upbringing of children.
Koala - marsupial mammals. This means that the baby is born underdeveloped and continues to develop in the bag. The newborn Koala weighs a few grams and a length of about two centimeters. The bag he spends six months, feeding on the mother's milk there. Then up to one year baby sitting on the back or on the mother's abdomen, clinging to her fur, and for food puts his head in a bag.
What is surprising is that the koala good swimmer and excellent diver, though it usually moves very slowly ..
Koala is found only in Australia and only in eucalyptus forests in the south-east of the country. They are under state protection, because they are threatened with extinction. These harmless, lovely and curious animals a lot of enemies. They are prey for foxes, dogs Dingo and birds of prey. Poachers kill them for the sake of valuable fur. During forest fires koala killed in the fire. Cutting down eucalyptus forests leads to a reduction in the territory of their habitat. And they reproduce very slowly - cub appears only once in two years!