Koala Australia’s Symbol

Power Point By: GW

The name of my animal is KoalaIt’s scientific name is “Phascolarctos Cinerus” meaning “furry pouched gray bear” in LatinIt is a marsupial A marsupial is an animal that has a pouch

Introduction

A Koala has shaggy grey ears

It has a big black shiny nose

5 sharp claws Rough pads on it’s feet Females have pouches for

young They have grayish, soft fur

& weigh up to 30 pounds They look like stuffed

animals with sharp teeth but you can’t see their teeth unless they open their mouth

Physical Features

A koala may live up to 20 years in the wild

It’s territory is endangered because people have been cutting down the trees that koalas live in

Koalas used to be endangered because people would kill them for their soft and silky fur

Lifespan/Is It Endangered?

Koalas live in Australia but many different places in Australia such as; Queensland , New South Wales , Victoria , and South Australia

They stay in eucalyptus trees where they eat , sleep , drink , and have their babies

They go to zoos in California and Japan where the climate is just right for them

Habitat /Where It Lives

Koalas have thick soft fur to keep them warm when it’s cold

When the climate is warm a koala sheds some of it’s fur

The shade of the eucalyptus tree also keeps it cool

It’s fur also serves as a fantastic rain coat

Climate

A Koala eats eucalyptus leaves from eucalyptus trees

They are herbivores, a herbivore is an animal that eats only plants

It has a sense of smell that can smell out good eucalyptus leaves

Eucalyptus leaves have water inside them so that a koala can drink water

Food

They are very picky eaters because they only eat from trees that they like

They can store food in they’re cheeks while chewing

Eucalyptus leaves make them very sleepy

They eat from gum trees also

More About Food

A baby is about the size of a jelly bean

It is called a joey just like a baby kangaroo

A mother koala is only pregnant for 35 days before giving birth

After a female mates with a male she has the baby and raises it on her own

A baby must travel to it’s moms pouch when born it has forelimbs to help

Reproduction - Babies

The first 4 weeks a baby goes in & out of the pouch to see the world but gets scared when it does

After one month the baby is to big for the pouch and must ride on it’s mothers back

But, it dips it’s head into the pouch to drink it’s moms milk

A mom can only have up to 2 baby’s in 1 litter

More Babies

One predator for a koala is a dingo

Another is an owl A koala is very fast so it

can move when on the ground

A koala doesn’t eat any animals, only eucalyptus leaves

Prey – Predators

Sleep all day and very lazy

Growls when other koala comes near it’s tree

Only lets a family member near it

Wants to be alone except in mating season

Behavior

Sharp teeth to bite it’s food

Sharp claws to hang on trees

Fantastic sense of smell to see if a leaf is not bad, if it is a koala will move on

Physical Adaptations [that help it adapt to environment]

Males make growling noises in mating seasons to attract females to it’s tree to make a family

Sometimes males fight for females [also to start a family]

Females don’t let anyone near the baby when first born

Behavior [that helps adapt to environment]

Females have nipples to feed their young inside their pouch

A pouch to carry their young

Cheeks that can store their food in

Physiological Adaptations -what’s inside of them

Sleeps 18 hours a day and only wakes up to eat

600 different species of eucalyptus trees

Koala’s are actually not bears

3 Interesting Facts