Коала
The
koala is a familiar Australian symbol.
Koalas have soft, wool-like grey fur. They have a
large, round head with large, round, furry ears, a large nose and long strong
limbs with sharp claws. The koala look like little bear, but the
koala ‘bear’ is not a bear at all. Koala is a marsupial mammal.
Eucalyptus trees are the primary habitat of
Koalas and they are rarely observed anywhere else.
Koalas are very fussy. Koalas eat only leaves and
bark from eucalyptus trees.
Koalas get a lot of moisture from eucalyptus
leaves, so they don’t have to drink a lot of water, because in Aboriginal
language, the word Koala is thought to mean "does not drink".
Koalas vary in size and colour
depending on where they live in Australia.
A baby Koala is called a joey.
Joeys are only around 2 cm long when born and like most other marsupials, Koala
mothers keep their joeys in their pouch for around 6 months.
Koalas can live up to 10 years in the wild.
In the 20th, century population of koalas
declined to such an extent that they were included in the endangered animals
list.