Koala

The Koala is the only member of the phascolarctidae family. The Koala's scientific name"phascolarctos cinereus" means "ash-coloured pouched bear."

Some people refer to the koala as a koala bear.Although it looks like asmall bear,the koala is a marsupial mammal.

Koala's have soft wool like grey fur which is paler on their underside.They have a small tail hidden by their fur.

Koala's are found four states:Queensland,New south wales,Victoria and south Australia.Their habitats range from tall eucalypt forests and low woodlands inland to coastal island trees.

Koala's eat only leaves and bark from eucalyptus trees.There are over 600 types or spices of these trees but koala's only eat the leaves and bark from 12 of them.Each koala eat approximately 12-21 ounces a day.

They are mostly nocturnal.They spend up to 20 hours a day sleeping or resting in trees.The koala's very large nose is one of its most important features.It has a very highly developed sense of smell which helps the animal what eucalyptus leaves are safe to eat.

The breeding season for koala's runs roughly from september to march.Koala's usually produce only a single joey but occationally twins are born.They are born 34 to 36 day after conception.