Page 74 - Atlas Of The World's Strangest Animals

74 ATLAS OF THE WORLD’S STRANGEST ANIMALS

Koala

Like China’s giant panda (Ailuropoda

melanoleuca), koalas occupy a unique
‘ecological niche’.They have developed
to live almost entirely on eucalypt
leaves. Few other animals could survive
on such toxic, low-calorie food, and

even the koala barely subsists on
such a poor diet!

Caecum
Two metres (6.6ft) long, this
area of the gut contains many
of the bacteria needed for
digesting such tough food.

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