Report Text of Koala

Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) is one of the typical marsupials

from Australia and is the only representative of the Phascolarctidae
family.
Koalas have brownish-grey or silver-grey fur, and a big pink and/or
black nose. They have sharp claws which help them to climb. They
can hear and smell very well, but they cannot see very well at all.
Koalas are mostly active at night. They live in trees, and they do not
like to be on the ground. They mostly eat leaves, bark and fruit of
some Eucalyptus trees. Koalas do not drink often, they get most of
their water from the leaves they eat.
Koalas live alone most of the time, but they have a social hierarchy
with the other koalas who live near. After a pregnancy of 35 days, the
newly born koala is about a quarter of an inch long, and is born with
no ears, eyes, or hair. It crawls into its mothers pouch on its own.
After 12 months the young koala is old enough that it does not go
into its mother's pouch or need milk anymore. The female koala can
have another baby then. Young koalas usually leave their mothers
when they are 18 months old, but if their mother does not have
another baby they sometimes stay for up to three years. Koalas
become mature when they are about two years old, but they often
have their first baby after another two years.
The koala is not an endangered species, but it is a near vulnerable
species. One reason is the loss of habitat, which means that koalas
have less space to live. In some places there are very few koalas left.
But there are also places, such as French Island (Victoria), with too
many koalas that eat too much. Because of this the eucalyptus trees
and other animals are in danger. A study looking at koala numbers at
1800 sites for 20 years, shows that the number of koalas is falling. The
study, by the Australian Koala Foundation, estimates that there are
only about 50,000 koalas left.