The koala post will tell you about this cute animal. Also, a report on the koala will help prepare for the lesson and deepen your knowledge in the field of biology.

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The koala is a herbivorous marsupial animal that moves and lives on tree branches. She lives on the Australian continent. Sometimes the animal is called the "marsupial bear", despite the fact that the koala has nothing in common with it. She is the only animal belonging to the Koalov family. To date, there are about 100,000 individuals, but their number is constantly decreasing.

Description of the koala

Koalas are small. The average length of their body is 70-73 cm, and the weight of an adult varies between 6-15 kg. It all depends on the amount of food you eat. The muzzle of the animal has a flattened shape. On it are small eyes and black, a big nose. The body is almost completely covered with fur. It can be of a different shade - ashy, grayish, gray. The paws are equipped with sharp claws, with which the animal clings to trees. After all, they spend most of their lives there.

We mentioned above that the koala is the only species of animal that belongs to the Koalov family. Previously, it included several more species, but the rest of the representatives became extinct. Interestingly, the extinct species of koalas in weight could reach more than half a ton! For the first time this animal was discovered at the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries.

The average life expectancy of a koala is 14 years. Rarely there are individuals who lived to 20 years.

Where do koalas live?

The main refuge of the koala is eucalyptus forests. Koalas sleep in the morning, comfortably nestled in the trees. And at night, the animals climb trees, looking for food.

During the waking period, the koala can sit immobile for a very long time. These teddy bears can sit still for more than 15 hours a day. Animals on the ground almost do not move. The only exception to the rule is the transition from one tree to another. And only in the case when it is impossible to jump onto a branch. By the way, at first glance, the animals may seem clumsy, but they jump successfully and deftly. Plus, koalas are excellent swimmers.

What do koalas eat?

Nutrition koalas associated with their lifestyle. They eat only fresh eucalyptus shoots and leaves. They contain little protein, and this does not allow animals to lead an active lifestyle. It is noteworthy that eucalyptus leaves contain poisons that are fatal to other animals. But koalas have a highly developed sense of smell. This property allows them to choose less poisonous leaves for their food.

Koala breeding

Koalas breed twice a year. During one period of pregnancy, the female gives birth to 1-2 cubs. The pregnancy lasts for a month. Babies weigh about 5 grams. About six months they are in my mother's bag, which is placed on the back. The cubs are very attached to their mother and when they feel lonely, they make a sound similar to a crying baby.

• Animals practically do not drink water. They get the necessary moisture for the body from eucalyptus leaves. Only in case of drought, koalas still drink water.
• When the body of animals lacks minerals, they eat the earth.
• They have poor eyesight.
• There are fingerprints that are very similar to human fingerprints.
• The fur of the animal does not let water through. It also protects the koala from ultraviolet radiation, so it can stay in the sun for a long time.

We hope that the report on the koala helped you prepare for the lesson. And you can add a story about a koala through the comment form below.

04/26/2016 at 13:13 Moscow time 8 104

The koala is an animal or, as they used to call it, the marsupial bear, the only representative of its kind. He received a comparison with due to the similarity with a plush creature.

The striking appearance brings it closer and straight to a soft toy. The body of the animal is not large, it reaches 12-13 kg in weight, with a height of 71 cm.

The muzzle of the koala is flattened, the ears are impressive, covered with thick fur. The black smooth elongated nose can boast of the absence of vegetation.

Bamboo eyes are small in diameter, round in shape. The color is dark brown. The color of the fur coat can be ashen and even reddish, but it is short. On the abdomen, the fur is lighter.

Another distinguishing feature of the animal koala is the tail, barely visible on the body. The claws are sharp on the front paws - curved, large and index claws are spread out, which makes it easier to climb trees well, and they are absent on the toes of the hind legs. They swim great. They can even run at a gallop to the desired object, if they are unable to jump.

Koalas are constantly on the trunk of a tree. Most of the time they sleep or just chew the leaves. Bamboo bear can be found directly in tropical forests. They inhabit the continent of Australia, mainly its southern and eastern regions. They are endemic. That is, you won't see them anywhere else.

The Australian koala bear appeared more than 15 million years ago, but extermination at the beginning of the last century reduced the population, now you will not meet them in the West of the country

Many islands are inhabited artificially, transported from Victoria. The koala is an animal that lives near the coast, which dispels the popular myth that they do not drink water.

Nutrition

As mentioned above, the koala lives on eucalyptus plantations; bark and greens containing toxic substances (fenoterols, hydrocyanic acid) are eaten.

Endowed with a special sense of smell, mammals find young shoots where the level of toxicity is reduced. The microflora in the stomach of a koala animal even copes with cellulose, the liver absorbs and processes toxic waste.

This of course does not exclude the possibility of poisoning, but still the risks are minimal. Getting up to 90% moisture from the leaves, the animals still come down to drink. Sometimes a koala can feast on the earth to make up for the lack of important components.

The animal leads a solitary lifestyle and fewer males are born. During the mating season from October to February, they huddle in groups. 3-4 females per male. Choose the strongest by and smell. Fertilization occurs every few years.

It bears offspring for a month and there is one in the litter, less often a couple of cubs. Up to six months, a newborn koala eats breast milk and travels in a bag with her mother, which opens in the opposite direction. After 7 months, eucalyptus gruel is added to the diet, which enters the baby's body through the mother's excrement. By the age of one, the baby becomes independent.

Enemies

Peaceful animals do not have them. The meat of the koala animal is saturated with poisons, so predators are in no hurry to taste it. Except dingo dogs.

People used to hunt, many skins were transported to the east. Because of their gullibility, they were a good target. A settled way, only 6 hours of wakefulness makes them terribly phlegmatic. Natural disasters - droughts, fires, contribute to extinction.

Koala is a marsupial animal living on average 13 years old, there are also old-timers - 20 years old. They are prone to eye diseases, respiratory system, genitourinary, which reduces their period.

Koala animal is listed in the Red Book. For an increase in vivo, reserves have been created even in California (San Diego).

1. Fingerprints are similar to human ones and cannot be distinguished even under a microscope.
2. When they are depressed, they make sounds similar to the crying of a baby.
3. The marsupial bear dies in fires without running away, they only hold on tighter to the tree trunk.
4. The brain of the beast is only 0.2% from the mass.
5. But they can be tamed and attached to a person.
6. They have an unusual structure of the genital organs, two paired in a female and a male.

Many tourists are interested in the question of where the koala lives. An unusual animal spends most of its life on trees, only occasionally descending to the ground.

When climbing trees, the claws of the animal close into a strong lock, which allows it to stay on any trunk. Exactly the same claws are in the cubs, which move, tenaciously grabbing the mother's fur.

Where does the koala live? This funny animal lives in the dense forests of the wild nature of Australia. Although koalas are considered marsupials, they are similar to their closest relatives, wombats. The fur of a koala is softer and thicker than that of a relative. The ears and limbs are also much larger. On the limbs there are claws that allow the animal to easily move through the trees.

What does a koala bear eat

The question “what does a koala eat” is no longer a secret for people. Koala is a herbivore whose main diet is the leaves and young shoots of eucalyptus. They spend their entire lives in the canopy of trees. Here they eat, sleep and breed. Only occasionally you can see an animal that has descended to the ground.

At night, the animal moves in search of fresh leaves and shoots along the tree. Then he settles comfortably on a fork in the branches and sits there until the shoots run out. The leaves and shoots of not all eucalyptus trees are suitable for nutrition. The koala eats leaves that contain little protein in their composition, but are also poisonous to other animals. For this reason, koalas have no food competitors. Mostly trees of coastal zones are suitable for food for animals.

The very name "koala" in translation from the language of the natives means "non-drinker". Long time scientists, having found out what the koala eats, thought that he did not drink water. But this myth has been refuted by modern experts in science. Occasionally, the animal still drinks water.

It is worth noting that the slow animal shows unusual agility, fleeing from a predator. At the same time, he deftly jumps from tree to tree. Another amazing ability of the koala is the ability to swim.

What does a koala and its cub look like?

When asked what a koala looks like, everyone unanimously declares that it looks like a teddy bear. And the very definition of a koala in the category of marsupial bears is not entirely correct.

Outwardly, the koala and its cubs look like teddy bears. Big expressive eyes, huge ears and soft fur - everything resembles a toy. The color of the coat is predominantly gray with a light belly. The only similar feature of the koala and the bear is a very small tail.

What does not only a koala look like, but also its house? The animal is inextricably linked with its habitat. The koala receives all the nutrients necessary for the body from eucalyptus leaves. Occasionally, to replenish trace elements, they eat the earth. The only predators that prey on them are wild dogs and dingo. But the koala, in case of danger, manages to climb high up a tree. Population reduction can only occur due to the disease of the animal.

How much and where does a koala sleep

Koala is a slow animal. Most of the day he sleeps, comfortably sitting on a bitch. So how long does a koala sleep? According to some reports, the animal can sleep for more than 16 hours. He sleeps mostly during the day. At night, it descends to the ground to find another tree or climb higher. Sometimes you can meet a koala that sleeps hanging on one paw.

The low-calorie food that the animal eats is quite nutritious for its lifestyle. This makes him look like a sloth. Only they can sleep as much as a koala sleeps. The metabolism is very slow, one kilogram of leaves per day is enough for him. An amazing feature of the animal is that they are silent and phlegmatic. In rare cases of injury or loneliness, they may "cry". The sound is similar to the cry of a baby.

Despite the diet, animals are prone to colds, which are the main cause of death. It is difficult to treat them for two reasons:

• the animal climbs high into a tree and clings tightly, it cannot be removed from there;
• they do not tolerate anesthesia very well.

But volunteers are doing everything possible to keep koalas from disappearing from the face of the earth. After all, these little animals like everyone without exception.

34-24 million years ago, when, judging by the fossil remains, there were at least 18 species of marsupial bears. Among them was such a giant as the Queensland koala. Koalemus which weighed half a ton. modern koala Phascolarctos cinereus, presumably appeared 15 million years ago.

The koala went unnoticed by the expedition of James Cook, who in 1770 discovered East Coast Australia. The first mention of him is found in the report of John Price, a servant of the Governor of New South Wales, John Hunter, on a trip to the Blue Mountains in 1798. Price writes that there is an animal in the Blue Mountains called cullavine, outwardly similar to a sloth. For science, the koala was discovered in 1802 by the naval officer Barralie, who discovered the remains of the koala among the natives and sent the preserved limbs of the beast to the governor of New South Wales, King. In June 1803, a live koala was caught south of Sydney, and on 21 August the Sydney Gazette placed it detailed description. However, the koala did not receive a scientific name until 1816, when the French zoologist Blainville gave it a generic name. Phascolarctos- from Greek. phaskolos"leather bag" and arktos"bear". specific name cinereus(ashy) beast received for the color of the fur.

For about half a century, the koala was only found within New South Wales. In 1855 naturalist William Blandowski met him in Victoria and in 1923 O. Thomas in southeast Queensland. Recently, the koala also inhabited South Australia, but was completely exterminated here at the beginning of the 20th century. In Western Australia, the koala has not survived, although Quaternary remains indicate that it was also found here.

Appearance

Koala is a medium-sized animal with a dense build: its body length is 60-82 cm; weight from 5 to 16 kg. The tail is very short, invisible from the outside. The head is large and wide, with a flattened "face". The ears are large, rounded, covered with thick fur. The eyes are small. The bridge of the nose is hairless, black. There are cheek pouches.

The hairline of the koala is thick and soft, durable; on the back, the color changes from light gray to dark gray, sometimes reddish or reddish, the belly is lighter.

The limbs of the koala are adapted for climbing - the thumb and forefinger of the front and limbs are opposed to the rest, which allows the animal to grab the branches of trees. The claws are strong and sharp, able to support the weight of the animal. There is no claw on the thumb of the hind limbs. Koalas are one of the few non-primates to have a papillary pattern on their fingertips. Koala fingerprints are indistinguishable from human fingerprints even under an electron microscope.

The brood pouch in females is well developed, opening at the back; inside are two nipples.

Koalas are usually silent and only speak during the breeding season or in case of danger. The call of the male is described as "something between the snoring of a fat drunkard, the creaking of a door on rusty hinges, and the grumbling of something disgruntled pig." A frightened or injured koala screams and "cries" like a baby.

The size and color of this animal varies depending on the place of residence. So, the Victorian koalas are larger and heavier, they have thicker and denser dark gray fur, often with a brownish tint on the back. In tropical and subtropical Queensland, koalas are much smaller and lighter, their fur is rarer and shorter.

The appearance of the koala is a bit like a bear (hence its name - marsupial bear); and the rudimentary tail, arrangement of the brood pouch, and dental formula bring it closer to wombats, with which it appears to have shared a common ancestor.

Spreading

Koalas are found in the east of Australia - from Adelaide in the south to the Cape York Peninsula in the north. The koalas of South Australia were exterminated already in historical time - in the 20s of the XX century, however, this state was again inhabited by individuals from the state of Victoria.

Lifestyle and nutrition

Koala with a cub

Koala eating eucalyptus leaves

The metabolic rate in the body of the koala is almost half that of most mammals (with the exception of wombats and sloths), which helps it compensate for the low nutritional value of the diet. On the day, the koala needs from 0.5 to 1.1 kg of leaves, which he carefully grinds and chews, accumulating the resulting mass in the cheek pouches. Like all mammals that feed on fibrous plant foods, koalas have a rich microflora in their digestive tract, including bacteria that convert indigestible cellulose into digestible compounds. The caecum, where the digestion process takes place, is extremely developed, reaching a length of 2.4 m. Poisonous substances, entering the bloodstream, are neutralized in the liver.

Social structure and reproduction

baby koala

Female koalas lead a solitary life and stick to their territories, which they rarely leave. In fertile areas, the areas of individual individuals often overlap each other. Males are not territorial, but even less sociable - when they meet, especially during the breeding season, they often attack each other, causing injury.

Only during the breeding season, which lasts from October to February, koalas gather in groups consisting of an adult male and several females. At this time, males often rub their chest against the trees, leaving odorous marks, and emit loud calling cries, sometimes heard from a kilometer away. Since fewer males are born than females, harems of 2-5 females gather around male koalas during the mating season. Mating takes place on a tree (not necessarily a eucalyptus).

Pregnancy lasts 30-35 days. There is only one cub in the litter, which at birth has a length of only 15-18 mm and a weight of about 5.5 g; occasionally twins. The cub stays in the bag for 6 months, feeding on milk, and then for another six months it "travels" on the mother's back or stomach, clinging to her fur. At 30 weeks of age, he begins to eat semi-liquid mother's excrement, consisting of a kind of gruel from semi-digested eucalyptus leaves, - in this way, microorganisms necessary for the digestive process enter the digestive tract of young koalas. The mother excretes this slurry for about a month. At the age of one year, the cubs become independent - young females aged 12-18 months go in search of sites, but males often stay with their mothers until 2-3 years old.

Koalas breed once every 1-2 years. Sexual maturity in females occurs at 2-3 years, in males - at 3-4 years. On average, a koala lives 12-13 years, although there are cases when they lived to the age of 20.

Population status and protection

Before the advent of Europeans, epizootics, droughts, and fires were the main cause of death for koalas. In the XIX-XX centuries, the koala became an object of fishing because of its thick fur. In 1924 alone, 2 million skins were exported from the Eastern states. The sharp decline in the number of this beast forced the Australian government to first limit, and in 1927 to ban the hunting of koalas, but only by -1954 their population began to gradually recover. Although the koala has been given the status lower risk(low risk), they continue to be threatened by fires, deforestation of eucalyptus forests, and ticks introduced to Australia from Japan and Indonesia. In Australia, the Lone Pine Koala Koala Park near Sydney and Kounu Koala Park near Perth have been established.

Notes

Media

Koala jumping from tree to tree

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010 .

See what "Marsupial Bears" are in other dictionaries:

marsupial bears- koalos statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas taksono rangas gentis apibrėžtis Gentyje 1 rūšis. Paplitimo arealas - R. Australija. atitikmenys: lot. Phascolarctos English. koala bears; koalas; native bears vok. Beutelbären; Koalas koala; ... ... Žinduolių pavadinimų žodynas

koala animal

Koala- this is a pretty cute fluffy animal that lives on the Australian continent. The second name of this animal species is " marsupial bear". Although, in fact, these animals have nothing to do with bears. The species of koalas is rather more suitable for wombats.

The name of this species of animal comes from the expression of the Australian Aborigines, which can be literally translated as "does not drink." This name did not happen by chance.

Koalas do not really consume water, and they take the moisture necessary for their body from the leaves of eucalyptus trees, which are their main food. The thing is that koalas live on eucalyptus trees and rarely descend from them to the ground. These small animals are among the laziest on the planet, so getting to a water source is a big problem for them.

About a hundred years ago, the koala family suffered significant damage, being at that time on the verge of complete extinction. And the people who needed the expensive and soft fur of these animals were to blame for this. Today, koalas are especially protected, their extermination for the sake of fur has been completely eliminated. In addition, koalas are bred in nature reserves and zoos, restoring the size of the family.

However, seeing a koala in the wild is a great stroke of luck. Since the animals are under special care, they try to keep them in special reserves or nurseries, taking care of their health and reproduction. In the wild, koalas can be observed on Kangaroo Island in the southern part of the Australian continent.

koala bear

Koala body size usually small - from sixty to eighty centimeters, and they weigh an average of six to 15 kilograms. Koalas are practically devoid of a tail, they have a very small one, and it is almost invisible behind the lush fur of the animal.

The animal is distinguished by funny rounded ears, which are completely covered with a fur coat. Koala fur is soft and quite thick, has good strength. The color of the animals can be different, but basically, their fur is colored in shades of gray. Less common are animals with red or red-red hair.

Koalas are quite quiet animals, so their voices can only be heard at certain times. There are two of them - either the breeding season, or the approach of the enemy. If the koala is scared or injured, then her cry will resemble the prolonged cry of a baby.

Koala life

Koalas lead a leisurely and measured lifestyle., almost never leaving its main refuge - the eucalyptus tree. Koalas sleep almost all day (from 18 to 22 hours). Koala activity occurs at night, and does not last long. Basically, it is connected with the need to find food for yourself.

During periods of wakefulness, koalas hardly move, but simply sit on the branches of a tree, holding on to its trunk with the help of their forelimbs. If necessary, the koala can show enviable lightness and grace, deftly jumping from one tree (where the food ended) to another. In addition, these animals are able to swim well.

Photo koala

The lazy lifestyle of the koala is by no means accidental. Their diet includes only leaves and shoots of eucalyptus trees, which contain almost no proteins. Moreover, eucalyptus leaves turn out to be deadly for most animals due to the large amount of phenolic compounds.

Choosing a tree, koalas feel which of them has less poison, and feed on it. There are about eight hundred species of eucalyptus trees in the world, but koalas choose only 120 of them for their food. With a serious lack of vitamins and minerals, koalas descend to the ground and eat it to restore the balance of trace elements in their bodies.