I now LOVE koalas. I am sure I loved them before but after holding them I love them even more! Koalas are marsupials which means that they keep their baby in a pouch until it is ready to come out. A koala may stay in the pouch for 5-7 months and once it comes out, it stays out. To get around, it may ride on its mom's back. Koalas eat eucalyptus leaves which would be toxic (like poison) to us but they have special juices in their belly that can digest it. The reason they are able to digest the leaves is because at around 5 months of age they eat pap (which is a bacteria found in their mom's poo-- yes, Russell, koalas start out as poo eaters!!!) and that gives them the bacteria they need in their bellies to digest the leaves. But, it doesn't give them much energy so they sleep about 18-20 hours a day. The sad thing is that since koalas live in trees and trees are cut down all of the time to build new houses or buildings, koalas are a vulnerable species which means they are close to being endangered. I think that we will have to adopt a koala next year in kindergarten!
Kristen, you got to hold a Koala! They are so cute. You used to have a koala backpack that you carried your pajamas in when you spent the night out. Will Grizzly get any bigger or is he full grown? How old do they live to be? Was he someone's pet?
ReplyDeleteI love koalas and I want one now too! The only thing I worry about is the poop eating thing. Oh, well. They are just so adorable!
ReplyDeleteWe didn't get to be at the zoo at koala time - it was horrible! I therefore did not get to hold one of the adorable things! Otherwise, I would have been wanting to take one home, like you.
ReplyDeleteSO FUNNY that koalas start off as poo eaters!
Do you think if we ate lots of koala poo while growing up, we could eat eucalyptus leaves?
SO CUTE!!!!