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Koala
Phascolarctos cinereus

Olivia Thornton

42 Murdock Dr

UC Box 579

Unity, ME 0498
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Koalas

The koala is now Australia’s animal icon and one of the world’s most charismatic

mammals, but this has not always been the case. The first European settlers considered

koalas stupid and killed millions for their pelts. Other serious threats to the animal’s

survival came from the impact of forest clearance, large-scale forest fires, and the

introduction of zoonotic disease. (Encyclopedia of Mammals)

The threat to koalas peaked in 1924 when two million were exported to slaughter

sanctuaries. They were exterminated in south Australia and almost wiped out the species

in Victoria and New South Wales. In 1944, bans were put on hunting and this made the

decline stop rapidly. The species was able to recover, but their population is still threatened

today by habitat loss. It is very serious in the semi-arid woodland areas, such as

Queensland, which is only one of my areas the koalas live. One million acres are cleared

annually for pastoral and agricultural needs.

Koalas can live up to 18 years old. They have a gray coat that is white on the chin,

chest, inner side of the forelimbs, and their ears are fringed with white long hairs. The rump

of a koala has patches of white on it as well.

Koalas spend most of their lives living in eucalyptus trees. An adult eats 500

grams or 1.1 pounds of eucalypt leaves per day. They spend 80% of their lifetime

sleeping and less than 10% of their life is spent for feeding. They have well insulated

bodies with dense covering of fur. They have large paws that are equipped with strong,

curved, needle sharp claws on most of their digits. Koalas are expert climbers and use their

claws and powerful forearms to grip the trunks of trees to heave upwards, while bringing
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their hind legs up in a bounding motion. Their first and second digits are opposable to the

other three ones. This enables them to be able to grip the smaller branches and to climb up

to the outer canopy of the trees. Koalas are much less agile are on the ground. They tend

to move to a different tree at least every couple of days, using a slow, quadruped walk.

One adaptation that the koalas need to eat the eucalypt leaves is their extremely

fibrous teeth. Using their cheek teeth, they chew the eucalypt leave into very fine paste. In

the digestion phase, microbial fermentation occurs in the cecum, a cavity in which the large

intestine begins. Relative to the koala’s body size, is the largest of any mammal. Another

adaptation for this low-energy diet is the koala’s tiny brain. In relation to their body size,

the brain is .2% of the koala’s body weight. This is one of the smallest brain sizes in

marsupials.

There are over 600 of eucalypt trees to choose from for the koala. However, koalas

prefer only 30 of these species. In the south, they tend to stick to Eucalyptus viminalis and

Eucalyptus ovate. In the North, Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Punctata, Tereticornis, and

Microcorys are preferred. Eucalyptus leaves contain toxic substances such as cellulose and

lignin that are inedible. The koala’s liver is able to detoxify this substance. From these

leaves, they obtain all the water that they need to survive.

Koala populations are widely separated and fragmented from each other by

extensive tracts of cleared land. The koala species can be found over several hundred

thousand square kilometers. This range stretches from east Australia from the edge of

Atherton Tablelands in north Queensland to Cape Otway at the southernmost tip of

Victoria. Koalas can live in many different types of environments such as the wet montane
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forests, vine thickets in the tropical North, and woodlands.

Koalas are solitary animals. They have fixed home ranges that are related to the

productivity of the environment. In the South, a male’s range tends to be around 3.7-7.4

acres and a female’s is 1.2-2.5 acres. In the semi-arid areas, a male’s territory will be

larger, possibly over 250 acres. On average this territory overlaps with up to nine females

on average. Males body size is 50% larger than females. They have a broader face,

smaller ears, and a very large sternal chest gland, that they use for marking their scents on

trees during mating seasons.

The reproduction of koalas starts with the female reaching sexual maturity at age

two, and the males having to wait until age three or four until they are fully mature. Once

females reach maturity, they may not begin to breed right away, some wait to achieve full

physical maturity at age four. In New South Wales, this period usually starts in

September and can run all the way through January. In the year 1978, a man by the name of

Eberhard studied koalas on Kangaroo Island and found that the births of the koalas

occurred from late December to early April, and peaked in February.

During breeding season, males attend a territory that contains several females.

They tend to move around frequently during the summer nights. They bellow loudly with a

series of harsh inhalations during the early months of breeding season. This is usually

followed by a growling expiration. This is used for a warning threat to other males and also

as an advertisement to any close females. Very often, a fight will break out if a male runs

into another male. Copulation itself, only lasts two minutes, and takes place in a tree. The

male will mount the female from behind and hold her between himself and a branch. The

only vocalization ever heard from female koalas is a wailing distress call made when a
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male is harassing them.

Females are seasonally polyestrous, going through a success of estrous cycles

during a particular time of the year, with an estrous cycle of about 27-30 days. Koalas

usually breed once a year and have a gestation period of about 35 days. The father does not

have any role in taking care of the baby. The litter size is one, however twins are known to

have been born. The baby koala is known as a joey and is hairless, earless and blind. At

birth the joey no bigger than a jelly bean, crawls into the mother's downward-facing pouch

and attaches itself to one of the two teats. (Pearce, 2004). The young weigh as little as .36

grams when born and live in the pouch for five-seven months. As it grows older, the young

makes it’s way towards the end of the pouch, during so it feeds on material passed through

the digestive tract for up to six weeks. The mother weans the joeys when they are

six-twelve months old. The young will now feed on partially digested leaf materials that

is produced by the mother’s anus. The mother clears the normally hard fecal pellets from

the lower bowel before producing this soft material, also known as pap. Pap contains high

concentration of microorganisms and is thought to inoculate the gut of the young with

microbes it needs to digest eucalyptus leaves. After seven months, the baby leaves the

pouch and will travel around on the mother’s back. The young will become independent

after eleven month but sometimes will stick around for a while after. Young males may

stay within their mother's home territory until they are two or three years old. (Pearce,

2004). The young will usually stay with the mother until the appearance of next year’s

joey. If the mother does not reproduce each year, the baby koala will stay longer and will

have a greater chance of survival.

When it comes to the handling and care of any captive animal, like the koala, the
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general guidelines are typically the same. The trainer or keeper of the koala should observe

and keep a record of the animal’s daily behavior. They should also be physically checked at

least once a month, and observed every day for any signs of injury or sickness. There are

several symptoms that sick or injured koalas will display and that a keeper or trainer should

constantly be on the look for. One symptom is puffy or inflamed eyes, which may make

the koala look as if he or she was crying or have a crust or discharge surrounding them.

Salivating excessively from the mouth, wet or matted fur, brown or dirty tail, appearing to

be abnormally skinny, and showing signs of trauma such as cuts and blood on the fur and

skin are all also physical symptoms of the koala. These signs might show that the koala is

being improperly handled or it’s environment is not ideal to fit all of the needs of a koala.

There are other symptoms that a keeper would notice when taking daily notes that aren’t

physical, but behavior signs of injury or sickness that a koala would display as well.

(Inger-Marie Vilcins) Any weakness or unusual behavior, remaining in the same tree for

more than a few days, sitting on the ground or in low branches, not moving when people

approach it, and not using all four limbs for climbing. If a koala is sick, or needs a check up,

there are ways to safely handle and catch the animal. You can use a long stick or rod with a

small sack attached at the end and the koala should climb down, with training, eventually

far enough to use your hands to make it go in the bag. (Tabart).

When doing a daily health check of a koala, the best time for this is the morning,

because that is when the koala will generally be the most active. The keeper should check

the coat and fur, dirt around the animal’s mouth, a wrinkled nose that suggests dehydration,

make sure the appetite is good, and the wetness of the cloaca and rump. An assistant animal

care manager, Travis, who works at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo had this to say about the
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care and check up of koalas, “The daily routine for the koalas begins with food

preparations (i.e. removing the uneaten browse and providing fresh browse for

consumption). We weigh each koala every day - as an indicator of health. We also count

and weigh each fecal pellet daily - as an indicator of quantity of food eaten. They are placed

on exhibit (we have both indoor and outdoor viewing when weather permits) for public

viewing. They do sleep most of the day. It can be said if they are not eating they are

sleeping. There have not been any medical issues to speak of. Although being a northern

climate zoo we do concern ourselves with them getting enough UV light. They must also

check for ticks around their ears. Ticks can cause irritation and anemia. The eucalypts

leaves that the koala eats do not act as a parasite control, according to Tabart D. If the

koala is in a hotter climate, they should be checked for heat stress. Symptoms for this are

lethargy and loose and dry skin on the nose. The koala’s droppings should be checked and

counted in order to see if the animal is having diarrhea, or other fecal problems. (Jackson

S.).

According to Jackson S. each captive koala is given a yearly examination where

blood samplings are taken to test for Chlamydia and Cryptococcus . A major disease for

koalas is Chlamydia, a bacteria involving the reproductive diseases in mammals. They

can also get an infection called fur mite. A koala with Chlamydia is affected in the

respiratory and intestinal tracts and a mother carrying this disease can pass it on to the

offspring if they are in the pouch. The symptoms of this disease are keratoconjuctivitis, a

discharge from the eyes, urogenital tract disease, inflammation of the urinary bladder

which causes the animal to lose its appetite and die from malnutrition, and reproductive

tract disease, affecting females. Other diseases that koalas can get are septicemia, cystic
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ovaries, nephritis, tubulointertitial nephritis, ophthalmic, rhinitis, pneumonia,

necrobalcillosis of the jaw, and salmonellas.

According to D. Tabart, The handling of koalas by guests is not allowed at any zoo

outside of Australia, but is allowed in a few zoos inside Australia. Usually the most contact

a guest is allowed to have is getting their picture taken while holding or being near the

animal. Excessive handling can result in the koala becoming stressed, that is why most

zoos around the world do not allow this.

There are several useful sexing techniques for koalas. A male has a distinguished

active sternal, chest gland that he uses for marking his scent on trees, leaving a brown stain

on his chest. Males are generally larger than females. Females have a more rounded face

that is more pointed than that of a male.

Early Europen settlelers can also be blamed for giving the koala it’s accustomed

nick name of koala “bear.” When infact, the koala is not a bear at all. The setterlers also

referred to the koalas as sloths and monkeys. The short, stocky build of these animals and

the absense of a tail gives a somewhat bear-like appearance. This mistake stuck around to

today’s times and people all over the world still refer to them as koala “bears.” A nickname

that will probably remain with them forever.

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Work Cited

Ronald M. Nowak. (1991). Walker’s Mammals of the World 5th Edition Volume. John

Hopkins Baltimore, Maryland University Press.

David MacDonald. (2001). Encyclopedia of Mammals Volumes III Marsupial, Insect

Eaters and Small Herbivores. Andromeda Oxford Ltd.

Gerry Pearce. (2004). Koalas. Information, pictures, cards, and gifts.

http://www.australian-wildlife.com/Koalas-information.html

Tabart D. Koalas in Zoos/Koala Handling. Australian Koala Foundation No Tree No Me.

https://www.savethekoala.com/koalazoos.html

Jackson S. Captive Husbandry Guidelines. Koala Phascolarctos Cinereus,

http://www.aszk.org.au/docs/koala.pdf

Travis. (2009, November 3rd). Asst. Animal Care Manager. (O. Thornton, Interviewer)

Inger-Marie Vilcins, Julie M. Old, Gerhard Körtner, and Elizabeth M. Deane. (2008) Ectoparasites

and Skin Lesions in Wild-Caught Spotted-Tailed Quoll (Dasyurus maculatus)

(Marsupialia: Dasyuridae). Comparative Parasitology 75:2, 271-277