Koala what do they eat

Koalas need a lot of space—about a hundred trees per animal—a pressing problem as Australia's woodlands continue to shrink. Koalas are listed as vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, which has named the species one of 10 animals most vulnerable to climate change.

Increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is decreasing the nutritional quality of eucalyptus leaves which is already quite low and causing longer, more intense droughts and wildfires.

In response to drought, koalas are forced to stop napping and come down from the trees to find water , spending precious energy and putting them at a higher risk of predation. Predators include dingoes and large owls. Chlamydia is widespread in some koala populations and can cause blindness, infertility, and sometimes death.

Koalas lost substantial portions of their habitat in the bushfire season and have been identified by the Australian government as one of animals requiring urgent help.

Wildlife hospitals, rescue organizations, zoos, and volunteers have stepped up to care for injured koalas, with the goal of rehabilitating and releasing them back into the wild.

Though there are some koala sanctuaries and reserves, many live on private, unprotected land. There are conservation efforts by the Australia Zoo and others to buy large tracts of land to set aside for koalas, and state governments are also creating new koala reserves. Campaigns urging landowners not to cut down eucalyptus trees are also ongoing. Research is another important component of conservation efforts.

All rights reserved. Common Name: Koala. Scientific Name: Phascolarctos cinereus. Type: Mammals. Diet: Herbivore. Size: Weight: 20 pounds. Size relative to a 6-ft man:. Least Concern Extinct. Current Population Trend: Decreasing. The toxins are thought to be produced by the gum trees as a protection against leaf-eating animals like insects. Trees which grow on less fertile soils seem to have more toxins than those growing on good soils. This could be one reason why Koalas will eat only certain types of eucalypts, and why they will sometimes even avoid them when they are growing on certain soils.

Koalas have a special fibre-digesting organ called a caecum. The caecum contains millions of bacteria which break down the fibre into substances which are easier to absorb. Even so, the Koala is still only able to absorb 25 per cent of fibre eaten. Water is also absorbed from the gumleaves, so that Koalas rarely need to drink, although they can do so if necessary, such as in times of drought when the water content of the leaves is reduced.

Each Koala eats approximately to grams of leaves per day. The teeth are adapted to deal with their specialised diet. The sharp front incisors nip the leaves from the tree. The molars, or back teeth are shaped to allow the Koala to cut and shear the leaves rather than just crush them.

Koalas are very fussy eaters and have strong preferences for different types of gum leaves. In Australia there are over types of eucalypts, but Koalas will not eat a large proportion of these. Within a particular area, as few as one, and generally no more than two or three species of eucalypt will be regularly browsed.

Different species of eucalypts grow in different parts of Australia, so a Koala in Victoria would have a very different diet from one in Queensland. Also, just think how boring it would be to eat the same thing every day.

Koalas like a change, too, and sometimes they will eat from other trees such as wattle, tea tree or paperbark. If you live in a koala area, find out what type of eucalyptus the koalas in your area like to eat. At WWF, we work in Australia and in our Asia-Pacific backyard to protect endangered species and habitats, meet the challenge of climate change, and build a world where people live in harmony with nature. Text available under Creative Commons licence.

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Baby koalas are too cute this is indeed, a fact.