๐ฆ Animal world ๐ Mammals
The koala
๐ In short
The koala is a cute Australian animal like a cuddly toy, with soft grey fur, big fluffy ears and a large black nose. It lives in eucalyptus trees and sleeps most of the day among their branches.
๐คฉ Did you know?
- A koala is between 65 and 75 centimeters long.
- A male koala weighs about 10 kilograms and a female about 8.
- A baby koala stays in its mother's pouch for about 6 months, then rides on her back.
- Every koala has fingerprints that look like human fingerprints!
๐ Find out more
๐ Not a bear!
Some people call it a โkoala bearโ, but it isn't a bear at all: it's a marsupial like the kangaroo, and the female has a pouch where her baby grows.
๐ Just one food
Koalas eat almost nothing but eucalyptus leaves. These give little energy and are hard to digest, so koalas sleep about 18 to 20 hours a day to save energy.
๐ก The animal that doesn't drink
It's said the name โkoalaโ means โthe one that doesn't drinkโ, because it gets most of the water it needs from the leaves it eats.
๐ฏ Clever hands
A koala has strong fingers and claws to grip and climb tree trunks, and on each hand two fingers face the other three, like two thumbs.
๐ธ More pictures
๐งฉ Test yourself
1 What does a koala eat?
2 Is the koala a bear?
3 A baby koala stays in its mother's pouch for about ?? months, then rides on her back.
4 Which picture shows โThe koalaโ?
๐ฆ Discover more
๐ท Picture sources: Wikimedia Commons
- Diliff ยท CC BY-SA 3.0
- Charles J. Sharp ยท CC BY-SA 4.0
- (--Pumpmeup) ยท CC BY-SA 3.0
- Benjamint444 ยท CC BY-SA 3.0
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