Bad dancers from the Bubal tribe. Bubal tribe - giant eggs
Taxonomy of the Koala family, or marsupial bears
Genus: Phascolarctos De Blainville, 1816 = Koalas, or marsupial bears
Species: Phascolarctos cinereus Goldfuss, 1817 = Koala or marsupial bear
Family characteristics
All koalas are relatively small in size. They reach a length of 82 centimeters (average length - 71 cm), the weight of an adult individual ranges from 5 to 16 kilograms. Previously, the Koala family included several species, representatives of which are now extinct. Interestingly, the weight of koalas of a number of extinct species reached half a ton or more. There are currently eight genera in the family with one modern look.
The koala was first noticed by humans at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. Average term The lifespan of koalas is 13 years. The oldest koalas die at the age of 19-20 years.
Koalas have a large head with large rounded ears, which are covered with thick fur. The muzzle of these animals has a somewhat flattened shape, with small eyes and a black nose. Most of the body of koalas is covered with ash-gray fur of different shades. It may also be reddish. The fur on the belly and neck is light, back side paw - black. The fur of representatives of the Koala family is thick and soft.
The koala's grasping limbs with sharp claws allow it to climb trees. Only deprived of claws thumbs hind legs animal. The longest finger on the forelimb is the fourth. The first and second toes of the front paws are opposed to the others. Interestingly, koalas' fingers are covered with a papillary pattern almost identical to that observed in humans. There are 30 teeth. The number of chromosomes in the diploid set is 16.
Inside the well-developed “bag” of koalas, which opens backwards (the only case in the family of climbing marsupials), there are 2 nipples. Cheek pouches are present.
Males of the Koala family have a forked penis, which is typical for marsupials in general. Accordingly, female koalas have two uteruses and two vaginas.
Koalas have a slow metabolism, which is also inherent wombats And sloths. In addition, dietary habits have led to the development of an elongated cecum, and also to the fact that the microflora of the koala’s digestive tract decomposes food more effectively. plant foods.
Koalas often get sick. The most common diseases in populations of these animals are conjunctivitis, cystitis, sinusitis, which turns into pneumonia. Many koalas die from them.
Representatives of the Koala family usually move slowly, breaking into a gallop only in case of danger. They climb trees, occasionally make jumps, and move along the ground.
Koalas feed on the leaves of 120 species of eucalyptus, which contain the lowest percentage of toxic terpene and phenolic compounds. Representatives of the family try to choose for food those leaves that do not contain hydrocyanic acid or its part is insignificant. Feeding on eucalyptus, koalas have virtually no competitors on the food front.
These animals obtain moisture from the leaves they eat, and only occasionally by absorbing water.
Koalas are common on mainland Australia, as well as on the Cape York Peninsula.
Koalas are quite numerous and are not in danger of extinction. They have no natural enemies. Rare attacks cause death of koalas wild dogs And dingo, human hunting, droughts and fires, as well as severe long-term illnesses.
Koalas mate from early October to late winter, with the male gathering in a group with 2-5 females, fertilizing them in turn. This order is due to the fact that there are many times more females among koalas. Koalas mate in trees. Their pregnancy lasts about a month. There is one cub in the litter, which weighs about 5.5 g at birth. The cub lives in the mother’s “pouch” for up to six months, and lives on her back for another 6 months. By the end of the lactation period, young koalas have been observed to eat their mothers' excrement. Perhaps in this way digestive tract Young animals receive microorganisms necessary for the digestive process from adults.
Female koalas are ready to mate at 2-3 years of age, males at 3-4 years of age. One female has offspring once every 1-2 years. Life expectancy is about 20 years.
These animals live on or near eucalyptus trees. Koalas jump from tree to tree or move along the ground. They move about 6 hours a day, the rest of the time they sleep or sit motionless. The koala is capable of swimming, although it rarely uses this skill. Both female and male koalas live alone for most of the year.
Copyright holder: portal Zoo club
When reprinting this article, an active link to the source is MANDATORY, otherwise, use of the article will be considered a violation of the Law on Copyright and Related Rights.
In the depths of the eucalyptus forests you can meet a very cute and cute animal - the koala. Marsupial bears are native to Australia and were artificially introduced to the local Kangaroo Island.
This is a herbivore, which, according to many, got its name from the Aboriginal language.
"Koala" means no water lovers. However, bear cubs love water, but they drink it in an unusual way - they collect dew from eucalyptus leaves.
This name was introduced by the French zoologist Blainville. At first, the inhabitants of the continent called the koala simply “tree bear.”
Appearance of koalas
Externally, koalas look like large wombats or small bears. They have long, thick fur that is soft to the touch. Their elongated legs help them move easily through trees.
Koalas have large, rounded ears and arched claws, with which they can hold up to 15 kg. The upper paws have a brush consisting of 2 parts - this is very convenient for moving through trees. Lower paws shorter and less developed, but this is not a disadvantage.
Interestingly, koala fingerprints have the same structure as those of humans. Their teeth are about the same as those of kangaroos and wombards. These are sharp and strong incisors that easily cope with leaves.
One and interesting features these animals is binary reproductive system. Females have 2 vaginas, and the male has a forked penis.
Such a device reproductive system characteristic of all marsupials, but it causes great delight among lovers of the animal world.
Koalas have a very small brain volume. Its weight does not exceed 0.2% of the bear's body weight.
According to scientists, it used to be larger, but during the process of evolution it decreased in size. This is due to the small choice of food, which is mainly vegetation.
Thus, they are one of the marsupials with the smallest brain. Externally, for example, in the photo of koalas, it is impossible to distinguish, because the head is quite proportional to the body.
On average, their lifespan is about 15-20 years. Koalas practically do not make sounds. The most common occurrence- This is the calling call of males during the mating season.
How do koalas live?
The cubs spend most of their lives in trees. They mostly choose eucalyptus. For more than half of the day, koalas are very passive. They can spend up to 12-16 hours in the same place, while being practically motionless.
Sometimes, when it is not possible to reach a neighboring tree, the koala can descend to the ground and reach it, but this happens very reluctantly and one can say that the animal is “lazy.”
It is worth noting that if necessary (say, danger) they can move quite quickly and jump to other trees.
If necessary, they can even swim, but when normal conditions they don't do this, remaining calm.
According to experts, this behavior is directly shaped by what koalas eat. It doesn't take much effort to get food. It is abundant in trees, so koalas do not need to move quickly.
In addition, their main diet is eucalyptus leaves, which inhibit all processes in the body. It takes to digest a large number of energy. Eucalyptus shoots also contain poisons. Competition for such food is minimal.
Besides koalas, the only animals that feed on eucalyptus are opossums and flying squirrels. In the absence of a struggle for food, the cubs can afford such imposing behavior.
What color are koalas?
They have a color that is similar in all individuals, but may have its own characteristics. Their fur can be several color ranges brown and gray.
The color of the koala helps them camouflage themselves in the treetops. Given that they can remain motionless for long periods of time, they can be quite difficult to spot.
Reproduction and social order
Koalas live alone, they do not create families and prefer to be on their own. They also do not have a separate protected area.
Sometimes, in some photos, koalas are gathered together - the animals are preparing for the mating season. They form small groups of up to 5 individuals. There is 1 male in each group. It attracts females with a secretion that remains on the branches after rubbing its chest against it.
The criterion for choosing a male is not only the smell, but also the cry of the males.
Having selected the most suitable male, the female agrees to mate. It takes place on a tree. Already 4 weeks after conception, the baby is born. Sometimes females have twins. Most often girls are born.
Koala photo
Koalas are mammals, marsupials. Live in natural environment wild only in Australia and Tasmania (like many other marsupials). They resemble bears only in appearance. The lifestyle of koalas is completely different.
Animal life has been studied by scientists since the 19th century. Previously, this animal was unknown to science.
Quote from the site " Amazing world Australia":
“Koala packs were known to science and society only in 1802, and a year later the first living animal of this breed was caught.
Koalas received their “official” scientific name back in 1816, when they were given the name Phascolarctos – from the Greek phaskolos “skin bag” + arktos “bear”.
Koalas got their specific name, cinereus (gray, ashy), thanks to the color of their fur.”
Koalas are exclusively nocturnal. At night, these cute lumps doze on comfortable beds made of eucalyptus branches. Of course, beds in trees. Well, it’s not far from the dining room
In the language of indigenous Australians, the word "koala" means "never drinking water" Indeed, these amazing bears obtain almost all the liquid they need for life from eucalyptus leaves.
They, unlike bears, do not eat meat at all and feed exclusively on eucalyptus leaves, and in different time of the year - different types this type of tree. This is because many varieties of eucalyptus emit poisonous substances at some point in time. chemical compounds. This is mainly hydrocyanic acid, which, when released into the blood, affects the respiratory system. Also, koalas are not like bears because they lead an almost entirely arboreal lifestyle and descend from their abode only to climb another tree.
Koalas' feet are excellent for climbing and clinging.
Their big and index fingers are opposed to all the others - it is more convenient to grasp the branches.
Koalas also have a tail, it’s just so tiny that it’s almost unnoticeable.
The fur of these animals is soft and thick, its color depends on the area where the koala lives, and can be gray, reddish and even reddish. It is always lighter on the belly than on the back.
One of the most prominent parts of a koala's body is its claws. They are so powerful and strong that, having stuck them into a tree, the koala does not fall down, even when he is fast asleep.
And they sleep often and for a long time, up to 20 hours a day. Koalas are generally very phlegmatic animals: during the day, even if they do not sleep, they sit motionless, clinging to a tree and only turning their heads from side to side. Often the baby sits on the female’s back, as calm as its mother.
Adult males have their own harems (groups of females). IN summer period time, approximately once every two years a female koala gives birth to a single baby.
A newborn cub reaches approximately 2 cm and weighs 5 grams. For half a year the bear cub sits in its mother’s bag. At 7-8 months, the baby begins to gradually get out of his mother’s bag and explore the world, and at 9 months he leaves his shelter and moves to his mother’s back, where he will spend about another year.
The average lifespan of an animal is about 13 years, although there are individuals that live up to 18 years. The female often lives longer than the male. Koalas easily get used to captivity if it is an Australian reserve. However, they only need eucalyptus, so they reproduce well in state protected parks.
The number of koalas was declining alarmingly quickly due to mass hunting. Koala hunting is now prohibited. The number of these wonderful bears is slowly but increasing.
Interesting thing: koalas have fingerprints similar to humans.
We invite you to look at photographs of these wonderful animals.
Sometimes I can’t believe that these funny animals really live in the wild. I just want to take the koala in my arms. take it home, wrap it in a blanket and cradle it like a baby :))
Thick fur makes the animal look like a teddy bear. Interestingly, the color of the fur depends on where the koala lives.
Possible fur colors: smoky gray, bright and light red, almost red.
Interestingly, koalas do not drink water at all.
On the soft pads of koala fingers, if you look closely, you can see a pattern identical to a human print.
Koalas can also boast of their claws, which are so strong that they can withstand the weight of the animal.
There are no claws on the big toes of the koala's hind legs.
Koala pregnancy lasts only 1 month.
After birth, the baby lives in the mother’s pouch for six months and feeds on milk.
Then, when the baby moves onto his mother’s back, he eats special feces (excrement) so that the baby receives the necessary microorganisms for good digestion.
Koalas sleep 18-22 hours a day. Still would! They get so tired digesting their heavy food...
Koalas are under the close attention of the World Wildlife Fund.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF, - World Wide Fund for Nature, World Wildlife Fund) is one of the world's largest public charitable organizations, working for more than 50 years to protect nature throughout the planet. Every year WWF carries out over 1200 environmental projects, attracting the attention of millions of people to the problems of protection environment and their solution.
Koalas are usually silent. They make sounds only in times of danger. Frightened or injured koalas scream and cry like human children.
Here's another interesting fact:
The size of these amazing animals can vary (as well as the color of the fur) depending on the territory in which the individual lives. Thus, the largest individuals live in the state of Victoria, and the smallest of the koalas live in Queensland.
The story of a baby koala named Raymond
Not long ago, not far from the Australian town of Brisbane, an orphaned baby koala was discovered right on the road. Of course, the man who found him could not leave the baby to die in the middle of the road.
He was so small that he easily fit into a coffee mug, and even now, a month later, he had grown only a little. His nurse and guardian Julie Zyzniewski gave the baby the nickname Raymond.
Baby koalas, forced to be separated from their mothers in such early age, suffer madly and even fall into real depression, refusing the milk offered to them. But Julia managed to feed and warm the baby with her care and affection. He began to eat and get better. In a couple of weeks he gained as much as 65 grams!!!
However, and this is the first of the interesting facts about koalas, the amazing animals of Australia, these animals are not bears at all!
Koalas are marsupial herbivores, relatives of wombats.
Although all over the world, except for their country of residence - Australia, koalas still continue to be called “bears, koala bears”. But for Australia, the amazing animal koala is a national symbol.
What koala bears have in common with the cute oriental panda bears that live in Asia (including in China) is that man destroyed the animals themselves for the sake of their fur, and systematically destroyed their habitat. So, now the koala - these amazing animals of Australia live only in the south and east of the mainland (also on the island where they were brought), in western Australia their population has been destroyed...
Koala bears are not large animals, they grow somewhere between eighty and eighty-five centimeters, and weigh from five to fifteen kilograms. At the same time, southern koalas are larger than northerners, and males are one and a half times larger than females. Although in ancient times there lived an ancestor of modern koalas Koalemus, which was almost thirty times larger than modern specimens!
The main food of the koala is eucalyptus, the young shoots and leaves of which the animal consumes in the amount of half a kilogram per day. The water contained in these leaves is sufficient for koalas, because they rarely drink, only when they are sick or during drought. A good sense of smell allows the koala to select the hundred species of eucalyptus trees it needs for food (and there are about six hundred species in total). In fact, the leaves and shoots of these trees are poisonous, because... contain terpenes, phenols and even hydrocyanic acid.
But in the body of a koala these harmful substances are neutralized. But with such a diet, the animals have no competition for food resources! And, since eucalyptus leaves are not the most energy-dense food, Australia's amazing animals, koalas, are slow and sleep a lot.
The koala's metabolic rate is half that of the average mammal. They can sleep or simply sit motionless (hang) on a tree for up to three-quarters of a day.
The possibility of such a position for animals is ensured by the structure of their limbs: the front legs have long claws and “thumbs” set to the side. This also helps the cubs stay on the mother’s back, clinging to her thick fur.
In a critical situation, however, the phlegmatic koala ( Interesting Facts!) can not only move quickly, but also swim! And this does not exhaust the features of the koala. Interesting facts about the structural features of the body of these animals can be very surprising. So, unlike other mammals, the koala - the amazing animals of Australia - did not evolve, but degraded during the development process. The brains of modern koalas have shrunk by forty percent compared to their fossil ancestors! Scientists believe this is due to the modern koala diet. But the papillary pattern on the fingertips of koalas is not only there (koalas are not primates), but it is also difficult to distinguish from humans!
Koalas are not family animals; there are fewer males in the population than females. Females live on their own in a certain territory, males gather around themselves a kind of “harem” of two to five females only during the breeding season. By the way, male koalas - interesting facts - during this period, due to additional vocal cords make very loud screams, as if from a much larger animal. These low sounds are heard at a distance of a kilometer and it is with them that males attract females.
The mating season lasts from October to February, female koalas become pregnant once every year or two, and pregnancy lasts thirty to thirty-five days. One baby is born (very rarely two), very tiny - about fifteen millimeters in height and five grams in weight. The cub lives in a pouch on its mother’s stomach for up to six months, then travels for another six months, clinging to her fur on her back or stomach.
From a year and a half, young female koalas go to look for their own territory to live in, but young males can live with their mother for another year or two. Female koalas become sexually mature at two to three years, males mature later - at three to four years. The average lifespan of a koala is twelve to thirteen years, although there is information about twenty-year long-lived koalas.
