10 Intriguing Facts About Koala Bears

Koala bear is among the many members of the animal kingdom to be found in Australia. They are one of a kind of mammal due to many factors. Though called bears, they are in fact a marsupial,  which essentially means that they have a pouch enabling them to carry their offspring. This is not a characteristic of a bear.

Another feature that makes them unique is in that they are “Arboreal” which essentially means that they reside atop trees. Plus they eat mostly eucalyptus leaves which is a leaf that could be toxic to other most other mammals.

The koala bear is a nocturnal animal and you are likely to spot one in the night though you will have to be pretty quick to do so. They sleep almost 20 hours of a day due to the fact that their diet of Eucalyptus leaves makes them have a lower metabolic rate.

Features

People who see a Koala consider it really adorable due the small and round shape they have. The body of a koala bear is covered with soft fur that is almost like wool. The fur is gray on the back and white on the belly area. They may have longer hair in white color on the tip of the ear, the claws are quite sharp and they have opposable fingers. These fingers let them climb trees and move around on them

Size

The koala from the north are about 22 to 36 inches in length and are between 9-20 pounds in weight. The ones from the south tend to be larger by about 30%. As a norm male koalas are larger than the female koalas. The pouch to carry the young is in the belly area and opens on the side of their hind legs unlike most other marsupials. The small newborns who are underdeveloped find this easy and they may get in and stay for many months.