Page 77 - Atlas Of The World's Strangest Animals

KOALA 77

America, which was still attached to Eurasia at that point.
Koala habitats
From there, they headed to South America.They finally
reached Australia via Antarctica about 50 million years
ago, just after the two continents split.

Carving out a niche
This was a moment when rainforest covered much of the
country, but as the climate changed, the rainforest was
replaced by eucalypt forest. Koalas now live in the tall
eucalypt forests of eastern Australia and on some islands
off the southern and eastern coasts.These animals have
been able to survive by adapting to eat what no other
animal will – eucalypt leaves.
Occupying an environmental niche like this has great
advantages. Koalas never have to fight with rivals for food,
for instance.This is because compounds in the leaves are
toxic to most species. Giant pandas have specialized in a
similar way, but are facing extinction now because they
rely on bamboo forests, which suffer from huge, natural
‘die-offs’ and are also being cut down by developers.
Eucalypt is much better choice from a survival point of extract every ounce of food value. Koalas eat so much
view, there are 680 species – of which blue gum, grey eucalypt foliage that it’s been said that they share the
gum and red river gum seem to be the koalas’ favourites. leaves’ distinctive odour, which is a little like cough drops!
The koalas’ problem is that eucalypt leaves are so low in However, even with such a big intake of food, these
calories that they need to eat 500g (17.6oz) of leaves a fluffy-eared mammals still have to spend 18 hours asleep
day to survive.These need to be munched into a thick to conserve energy! Koalas have such a low metabolic rate
paste before they can be swallowed. It’s then that the that if you’re lucky enough to see one it will most likely
koalas’ extra long gut comes into its own.This is needed be tucked in the nook of a tree, or wedged between two
to break down the tough leaves, remove their toxins and forked branches, fast asleep.

Comparisons

There are three living species of wombat, and these cute but tough
marsupials can be found in many of the same areas as their koala
cousins. Both animal groups have an amazingly slow metabolism, which
helps them survive in extreme conditions. But, while koalas prefer an
arboreal life, the chubby-cheeked wombats are subterranean and use
their rodent-like teeth and sharp claws to dig burrows.

Koala

Wombat

(c) 2011 Marshall Cavendish. All Rights Reserved.