The Koala Bear

Have you ever seen a cute and cuddly koala bear? These animals look an awful lot like a teddy bear. A full-grown koala bear gets about as big as a yardstick and can weigh up to 20 pounds. A koala bear has a very specific diet. They eat only the leaves from a eucalyptus tree. They eat as much as two-anda-half pounds of eucalyptus leaves a day. They enjoy the moist and tender tips of these leaves. The koala is able to get enough water and food from the leaves.

The koala bear has large, bushy ears with small, beady eyes. They have a baby-like expression, which makes them look cute to humans. Their four paws are sharp so that they can easily climb trees. They have a thick, soft, gray or brown fur. Koalas are also good swimmers.

A baby koala stays in its mother’s pouch for about six months before it learns to feed by itself. Koala bears primarily come from Australia. Many koalas prefer to live on the island on the southeast shore of Australia. Koala bears are becoming endangered because their habitat is being destroyed due to construction. Some are also killed for their skins. The main predators of a baby koala are eagles and owls. Humans and dingoes, Australian wild dogs, also kill them. If a koala spots an enemy, it will scurry up a tree for safety.