Koala

A marsupial, not a bear

Although it is often called a 'bear', the koala is not a bear at all: it is a marsupial, related to kangaroos and wombats. It has a stocky body, thick silver-grey fur, large hairy ears and a prominent, leathery black nose. Its limbs are equipped for life in the trees: it has sturdy claws and, on the forepaws, two fingers opposable to the other three, a perfect grip for clinging to branches. Like all marsupials, the female has a pouch in which the young, born tiny and immature, completes its development.

A life on eucalyptus

The koala is tied almost exclusively to eucalyptus trees, whose leaves it eats. It is an unusual food: eucalyptus leaves are low in nutrients, hard to digest and even toxic to most animals. The koala tolerates them thanks to a highly specialised digestive system, but it draws so little energy from them that it is forced into an extremely frugal existence. This is why it sleeps up to twenty hours a day, minimising every waste of energy.

Where it lives

It is found in the eucalyptus forests and woodlands of eastern and southern Australia. It is a solitary and territorial animal, spending almost all its life in the trees, coming down to the ground only to move from one tree to another. Each individual occupies its own territory, defined by the trees it habitually frequents.

Behaviour

The koala is mostly nocturnal and crepuscular, and communicates with surprisingly deep, resonant calls in the males, quite unexpected from an animal of such gentle appearance. Its days are spent largely motionless, wedged among the branches sleeping or slowly chewing leaves.

Conservation

The koala is classified as a vulnerable species and its populations are in decline. The main threats are the destruction and fragmentation of eucalyptus forests, increasingly devastating fires, diseases and accidents. Its absolute dependence on a single type of habitat makes it particularly fragile in the face of environmental change.