Koala bear - World of Animals 4K

Koala bear - World of Animals 4K
The Koala is one of the most charismatic of all marsupials with its large, wide face and round, white-tufted ears giving it the appearance of a small bear, along with their lack of a visible tail and smooth, black nose. The Koala has dense and soft grey or grey-brown fur which is lighter on their underside and mottled on the rear. Due to the fact that Koalas spend almost all of their lives in the trees, they have evolved a number of adaptations to help them with their arboreal lifestyle including having short, powerful limbs that are tipped with sharp claws.

Having two opposable thumbs and three fingers on each hand means that Koalas are able to grip onto even the smoothest of bark when climbing and feeding in the trees. Koalas also have human like fingerprints! Learn more amazing animal fun facts here.

Koalas move about in the trees by jumping, first gripping the trunk with their front paws (helped by their rough paw pads and claws) before then moving both their back legs up the tree together, allowing them to get higher up.
The Koala would have once been widespread throughout south-eastern Australia and on a number of its surrounding islands but populations (particularly in the south) were wiped out in some areas due to hunting. They are however, surprisingly resilient and adaptable animals that are known to inhabit various types of forest from the tall eucalyptus forests, to coastal regions and even low-lying woodlands further inland. Despite the fact that they are common in much of their natural range today, land clearance has not only meant a loss of their habitats but also separates populations from one another making them more and more isolated. It is not just loss of habitat to Human activity though that has led to population declines in certain areas, as quick-spreading forest fires can devastate vast areas of land in minutes and severely affect the local Koala populations in the process.

The Koala is a solitary and nocturnal animal that spends most of the daytime hours sleeping in the fork of a eucalyptus tree. Their low-energy diet (that is comprised only of the fibrous leaves of the eucalyptus) leads to Koalas leading a largely inactive lifestyle as they can happily spend up to 18 hours a day sleeping or simply just sit in the trees to conserve energy. Everything from sleeping to eating and even breeding is done in the trees as although Koalas are known to come down to the ground quite frequently, it is only so they are able to move to another tree. Koalas are also sedentary animals which means that they occupy a fixed home range which can vary in size depending on the abundance of food available (home ranges are smaller in areas with more food as there is no need to travel as far). Although the home ranges of males and females do overlap, males will not tolerate rival males intruding on their territory and fight viciously by scratching and biting.

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