A tree-dwelling marsupial of eastern and southern Australia, and not a bear. It lives on eucalyptus leaves, a diet so low in energy that koalas sleep up to 20 hours a day.
Quick answers
What is it?Mammal
Carnivore?No, herbivore
Dangerous?No
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Night
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?No
At a glance
Found inAustralia
HabitatForest
ColoursGrey
SizeSmall
Length60–85 cm
Weight4–15 kg
Legs4
Covered inFur
Lives alone
Lives for13–18 years
Can swim
In the wild
- Where it lives
- Eucalyptus woodland in coastal eastern and southern Australia: Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.
- What it eats
- Almost entirely eucalyptus leaves, which are low in nutrients and contain toxins that put off most other mammals.
- Conservation
- Vulnerable (IUCN Red List)
Did you know
Sleeps 20 hours a day because eucalyptus is barely food.
Males mark their presence with scent from a gland on their chest.
Often confused with
- Wombat
Its closest living relative, the wombat, lives on the ground in burrows it digs with powerful claws, not up in trees.
Sources
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