Koalas are very interesting animals whose appearance is similar to that of a small bear. They are herbivores that belong to the marsupial family. Its skin is completely covered with hair and, despite the large size of its head, its brain is one of the smallest among mammals.
If koalas are characterized by something, it is by their sexual dimorphism . Males are longer than females, and both their heads and noses are larger. Females have an abdominal pouch that plays a very important role during the rearing of puppies.
Koalas are native to Australia , and can only be found in Oceania, nowhere else in the world. Their natural habitat is the eucalyptus forests and they live in colonies made up of several individuals, although they do not usually coexist with each other.
Although this is something that many people do not know about them, koalas are very territorial and their levels of sociability are practically nil. Despite their adorable appearance, they can be very aggressive in defending their territory.
What do koalas eat?
When it comes to feeding koalas, they are herbivorous animals, so they base their diet on plant species. They basically feed on eucalyptus and, although there are more than 600 types of eucalyptus trees, koalas are very select, and they barely consume 50 varieties. Smell is your most developed sense.
They spend five hours eating every day . They do it mostly at night. But why do they take so long? They chew the eucalyptus leaves calmly until they transform them into a pasty substance so that their body can process it without the presence of any toxins. In adulthood, these animals can eat two kilos of food a day.
It should be noted that the nutritional value of eucalyptus leaves is very low . This is the main reason why koalas don’t have a lot of energy and are almost always tired.
What if koalas can’t find eucalyptus leaves ? They look for other sources of food, albeit in a very aggressive way. They only come down from the trees when food is scarce and they have to search for it on the ground.
It is said that koalas do not drink water , although this is a false myth. They get the water they need from eucalyptus leaves, and if it’s not enough, they go out looking for it.
