Koala Facts
A Few Koala Facts You May Not Know
Koala facts tell us that the average weight of a male koala bear is 26 pounds.
The average weight of a female koala bear is 17 pounds.
A koala bear is two feet high.
Koala bears are not bears at all, but marsupials.
Marsupials have pouches to carry their young.
There are two kinds of koala bears: northern and southern.
Northern koala bears have very thick fur while southern ones have such a short coat that they look to be naked.
Koala bears only give birth to one young one at a time.
When a koala bear is born it is the approximate size of a jelly bean.
A koala bear has a gray coat, and has white on its chest, chin, rump and forelimbs.
Koala facts indicate that a koala lives to be between twelve and eighteen years old.
The koala bear was first described by E. Home in 1908.
The gestation period for a koala bear is only 34-36 days.
A koala bear does not open its eyes until it is 22 weeks old.
A koala bear sleeps between eighteen and twenty-two hours every day.
The koala bear lives in eucalyptus trees and feeds on eucalyptus leaves.
A baby koala bear is called a joey.
The koala bear young spend six months in their mother’s pouch and then another three months on their mother’s back during the day while they sleep in the pouch at night.
Koala facts tell us that they obtain ninety-percent of their water needs from the eucalyptus leaves they eat.
Koala bears live with their mothers for the entire first year of their lives, then live alone in trees until they mate when they are around four years old.
Koala’s mate between December and March.
A koala bear normally eats a pound to a pound and a half of eucalyptus leaves every day.
Human beings are the koala bear’s number one predator.
Koala means “no water” in the aborigine language.
Cars and dogs are the biggest threat to koala bears.
Koala bears have cheek pouches in which to store food.
Koala bears communicate with one another by vocal noises.
There are over six hundred different species of eucalyptus trees and koalas only eat the leaves of twelve of them.
Eucalyptus leaves are poisonous to most animals but the stomachs of koala bears have a special bacteria that break down the toxins.
The closest relative to a koala is a wombat.
Koalas live in groups with a social structure.
Koala bears have a very highly developed sense of smell.
Koalas can run very fast--almost at the same speed as a rabbit.
The fingers of a koala bear look a lot like those of humans.
Koalas were called bears because they looked like teddy bears.