Koalas Australia : Maggi Carstairs
http://activeenglishspeaking.com http://activeenglishspeaking.com Koalas Australia
http://www.koala.net/index.phpLone Pine Sanctuary Website : http://www.koala.net/index.phpLone Pine Sanctuary Website http://activeenglishspeaking.com Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane, Australia, is the world's first and
largest koala sanctuary, with over 130 koalas.
Cuddle a koala anytime, handfeed kangaroos and encounter a large
variety of Aussie wildlife, all in beautiful, natural settings. Brisbane's
premier tourist attraction is only 50 minutes from the Gold Coast.
Our motto is: "The earth is not only for humans"
What is a Koala? : What is a Koala? http://activeenglishspeaking.com The koala is a small bear-like, tree-dwelling, herbivorous
marsupial which averages about 9kg (20lb) in weight.
Its fur is thick and usually ash grey with a tinge of brown
in places.
The koala gets its name from an ancient Aboriginal word
meaning "no drink" because it receives over 90% of its
hydration from the Eucalyptus leaves (also known as
gum leaves) it eats, and only drinks when ill or times when
there is not enough moisture in the leaves. ie during droughts etc.
The koala is the only mammal, other than the Greater Glide
r and Ringtail Possum, which can survive on a diet of eucalyptus leaves.
Habitat : Habitat http://activeenglishspeaking.com In Australia there are over 600 types of eucalypts,
but koalas will only eat 40-50 varieties with only
about 10 being preferred. Koala populations only occur if suitable habitat
is available and because Koala's are very fussy
eaters and have strong preferences for different
types of gum leaves
Diet of the Koala : Diet of the Koala http://activeenglishspeaking.com Different species of eucalypts grow in different
parts of Australia, so a koala in Victoria would
have a very different diet from one in Queensland.
Koalas like a change, too, and sometimes they will
eat from other trees such as wattle or tea tree.
Eucalyptus leaves are very fibrous and low in nutrition,
and to most animals are extremely poisonous.
To cope with such a diet, nature has equipped koalas
with specialized adaptations.
A very slow metabolic rate allows koalas to retain
food within their digestive system for a relatively
long period of time, maximizing the amount of
energy able to be extracted. At the same time,
this slow metabolic rate minimizes energy
requirements and they will sleep for up
to 18 hours per day in order to conserve energy.
Daily Food of the Koala : Daily Food of the Koala http://activeenglishspeaking.com Each koala eats approximately 200 to 500
grams of leaves per day.
The teeth are adapted to deal with for this.
The sharp front incisors nip the leaves
from the branches and the molars(back teeth)
are shaped to allow the koala to cut and shear
the leaves rather than just crush them.
A gap between the incisors and the molars,
called a 'diastema', allows the tongue to move
the mass of leaves around the mouth efficiently.
Physiology of the Koala : Physiology of the Koala http://activeenglishspeaking.com The koala has an excellent sense of balance
and its body is lean and muscular and its
quite long, strong limbs support its weight
when climbing.
The arms and legs are nearly equal in length
and the koala's climbing strength comes
from the thigh muscle joining the shin much
lower than in other animals.
The Paws of the Koala : The Paws of the Koala http://activeenglishspeaking.com Its paws are especially adapted for gripping
and climbing with rough pads on the palms
and soles helping it to grip tree trunks and
branches. Both front and hind paws have
long sharp claws and each paw has five digits.
On the front paw, two fingers are opposed
to the other three, rather like a human's thumb,
so they are able to be moved in opposition
to the fingers. This allows the koala to grip more
securely. On the hind paw, there is no claw
on the big toe, and the second and third toes
are fused together to form a 'grooming claw'.
Koala Fur : Koala Fur http://activeenglishspeaking.com Koalas have a thick woolly fur which protects
them from both high and low temperatures.
It also acts like a 'raincoat' to repel moisture
when it rains. The fur varies in color from
light grey to brown, with patches of white
on the chest and neck, inside arms and legs
and inside the ears. Mature males are
recognizable by the brown 'scent gland' in
the centre of their white chest.
The fur on the koala's bottom is densely
packed to provide a 'cushion' for the
hard branches it sits on, and has a 'speckled'
appearance which makes koalas hard to spot
from the ground.
Size of Koalas : Size of Koalas http://activeenglishspeaking.com An adult male koala can weigh between 8 and 14
kilograms and a female between 6 and 11
kilograms, with the heavier animals coming
from the southern areas where they have
adapted to the colder climate by an increase
in body weight and thicker fur
Nocturnal Animals : Nocturnal Animals http://activeenglishspeaking.com Koalas are mostly nocturnal animals
and they are most active during
the night and at dawn and dusk.
This is because in the cooler hours
they are less likely to lose precious
moisture and energy than they
would during the hotter daylight
hours.
An average of eighteen to twenty
hours each day are spent resting
and sleeping, and the remainder
for feeding, moving around,
grooming and social interaction.
Koalas Nose : Koalas Nose http://activeenglishspeaking.com The Koala's nose is one of its most
important features, and it has a
very highly developed sense of smell.
This is necessary to differentiate
between types of gum leaves and
to detect whether the leaves are
poisonous or not.
Poisons in the Gum Leaves : Poisons in the Gum Leaves http://activeenglishspeaking.com The Koala's digestive system is especially
adapted to detoxify the poisonous chemicals
in the leaves. The toxins are thought to be
produced by the gum trees as a protection
against leaf-eating animals like insects.
Trees which grow on less fertile soils seem
to have more toxins than those growing
on good soils.
This could be one reason why koalas will
eat only certain types of eucalypts, and
why they will sometimes even avoid them
when they are growing on certain soils.
Climbing Trees : Climbing Trees http://activeenglishspeaking.com When descending a tree, koalas
come down bottom first.
They regularly descend to the
ground to change trees, and it
is there that they are most
vulnerable to predators such as
dogs, foxes and dingoes, and
also to the risk of injury or
death from cars.
They walk with an
awkward-looking gait and
can also run.
Communication : Communication http://activeenglishspeaking.com There is a deep grunting bellow which
the male uses to signify its social and
physical position. Males save fighting
energy by bellowing their dominance
and they also bellow to allow other
animals to accurately locate the position
of the caller.
Females do not bellow as often as males,
but their calls too are used to express
aggression as well as being part of
sexual behavior, often giving the
impression of fighting.
Koalas scream when stressed : Koalas scream when stressed http://activeenglishspeaking.com All koalas share one common call which is
elicited by fear.
It is a sickening cry like a baby screaming
and is made by animals under stress.
It is often accompanied by shaking.
Koalas also communicate by marking
their trees with their scent.
Breeding : Breeding http://activeenglishspeaking.com The main characteristics of marsupials which differentiate
them from other mammals is that they give birth to
immature young which then develop further in a pouch.
The word 'marsupial' comes from the Latin word marsupium,
meaning 'pouch.' Most, but not all marsupials have a
pouch in which to raise their young.
The breeding season for koalas runs roughly from
September to March. This is a time of increased activity
,and sound levels increase as males bellow more frequently.
This is also when the young from the previous year are
weaning from their mothers.
Birth of a new Joey : Birth of a new Joey http://activeenglishspeaking.com Once a female has conceived, it is only 34-36
days before the birth of the new baby, called
a "joey". The tiny baby which is roughly
2 centimeters long and weighs less than
1 gram, looks rather like a pink jellybean
as it is totally hairless, blind and has no ears.
The joey makes its way from the birth canal
to the pouch completely unaided, relying
on its already well-developed senses of
smell and touch, strong forelimbs and
claws and an amazing sense of direction.
Once inside the safety of the pouch,
it attaches itself to one of the two teats,
which swells to fill its mouth.
This prevents the joey from being
dislodged from its source of food.
Diet of the Baby Koala : Diet of the Baby Koala http://activeenglishspeaking.com The young koala drinks only mother's milk for
the first six to seven months and remains
in the pouch for that time, slowly growing
and developing eyes, ears, fur etc.
At about 22 weeks, its eyes open and
it begins to peep out of the pouch.
From about 22 to 30 weeks, it begins
to feed upon a substance called "pap"
which the mother produces in addition
to milk.
Pap is a specialized form of fasces,
or droppings, which forms an important
t part of the young koala's diet,
allowing it to make the transition
from milk to eucalyptus leaves,
The Young Koala : The Young Koala http://activeenglishspeaking.com The baby feeds regularly on the pap and
as it grows it emerges totally from the
pouch and lies on its mother's belly
to feed. Eventually it begins to feed upon
fresh leaves as it rides on her back.
The young koala continues to take milk
from its mother until it is about a year old,
but as it can no longer fit in the pouch,
the mother's teat elongates to protrude
from the pouch opening.
Young koalas remain with their mothers
until the appearance outside the pouch
of the next season's joey. It is then time
for the previous year's joey to wean
and find its own home range.
Life Span of the Koala : Life Span of the Koala http://activeenglishspeaking.com Females generally live longer than males
as the males are more often injured
during fights, they tend to travel longer
distances with the resulting increase
in risks such as cars and dogs, and
they more often occupy poorer habitat.
Putting a life span on the average koala
can be misleading because some survive
only for a period of weeks or months,
while others survive to old age.
Koalas living in an undisturbed habitat
would have a greater life expectancy
than those living in suburbia.
Some estimates for the average
life-span of an adult wild male koala
are ten years
Sources : Sources http://activeenglishspeaking.com The information came from http://www.thekoala.com/koala/ The photos are from Maggi Carstairs
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ladymaggic/sets/72157622362971574/ http://activeenglishspeaking.com
Slideshow of Lone Pine Sanctuary : Slideshow of Lone Pine Sanctuary http://activeenglishspeaking.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/ladymaggic/sets/72157622362971574/show/
Travel Talk : Travel Talk http://activeenglishspeaking.com Koalas Maggi Carstairs by