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Should you ask a native Australian which of the pouched animals of his famous land is his favorite, he doubtless would smile and say, the Koala. Every one there loves the roly-poly inhabitants of the eucalyptus trees, just as small children in our own land like their toy Teddy Bears, which are made to look like the Koalas.
The real Koala has the same small rounded body, short arms and legs held akimbo, bright, wondering eyes and queer black nose, but it is not a bear. Australia has no members of that family. The Koala belongs to the marsupials, the group to which belong the kangaroos wombats, phalangers and Tasmanian Devils. Many of them have outside pockets for the feeding and protection of the young.
When the Joey or baby Koala is born, it is less than an inch long and has no hair on its body. Using its long, strong, pointed claws it works its way up through its mother's fur and into the pouch where it stays for several months. During that time, it grows a coat of short, thick, woolly fur.
After leaving the pouch, the youngster spends much of its time lying in its mother's arms, much as a human baby does, except that it has to hang on tightly. The mother cannot clasp it as her own arms are needed for climbing about in the tree and pulling down the tender leaf tips on which she feeds. Should the baby become alarmed, it quickly swings about onto its mother's back and up the tree they go far away from danger. Koalas are fond of sitting in the bare limbs at the very tops of the trees, especially the old males. Sometimes, the forests ring with the hoarse calls of the animals, but usually they are silent.
While the eucalyptus trees are the homes of the Koalas, they do come down and walk about on the ground. In descending the trees, they come down backward never glancing around once to see where they are going. On the ground they are rather awkward due to the peculiar formation of their fingers and toes. Each hand has five fingers. The first two are together, then comes a space, then three more fingers held close. Thus we might say the Koala has two thumbs on each hand as the first two fingers stand out at an angle as does our own thumb. On each foot are four toes arranged in groups of twos with some space between the groups. This arrangement makes it possible for the animals to clasp a limb or tree trunk with great security. Like man and the apes, Koalas can hold their arms above their heads or out from the body at any angle needed to reach some desired food.
Their favorite food is the dainty, oily leaf tip of the Manna Gum, a kind of eucalyptus tree with long drooping leaves having quite a bit of sugar in them.' As far as known, Koalas will eat very few lands of eucalyptus leaves. That is the reason that it is almost impossible to keep them alive away from their homeland. Occasionally, a Koala has been seen to eat bark and sphagnum moss. It is thought that these are used as we use medicine.
In order to secure all the fat, sugar and meaty substance needed to keep them healthy, the Koalas take into their stomachs great quantities of the leaf tips. To care for this mass, they have been provided with the most highly developed appendix known. We have a very small appendix, and yet, what trouble it can cause. The Koala appendix is from six to eight feet long and in constant use.
While the Koalas eat a tremendous amount of food, they do not drink. In fact, the name Koala given to these attractive little marsupials by the early natives of Australia, means "Nothing to drink", or "I do not drink." The moisture needed must be found in the juicy leaf tips. As they gather these during the night, perhaps the dew provides some of it. People who have been fortunate enough to have a pet Koala are always amused to see it when given water. It tries to chew it.
Koalas make delightful pets following their owners about just as puppies do. When hurt they cry like babies and want to be taken up and fondled. Due to the fact that so few are left from the millions that formerly lived in Australia, preserves have been established where they are protected. It is now illegal for a person to secure one without a permit from the government. Thus Australia hopes to preserve for future ages this most interesting, harmless and valuable marsupial. Cornell.
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