Mating occurs between the months of December and March, which is summertime in the Southern Hemisphere. Males reach maturity later at 3 – 4 years. A disturbed Koala can become violent and with their sharp teeth and claws can cause injury to a human.įemale Koalas reach sexual maturity at 2 – 3 years of age. The remainder of the time is used for feeding, moving around, grooming and social interaction. Koalas have a very slow metabolism just like Sloths and Wombats which makes them rest for up to 18 hours a day. Koalas also communicate by scent marking their trees. It sounds like a human baby crying and made when the Koalas are under stress and threatened. Mother Koalas and their koala babies make soft clicking, squeaking sounds and gentle humming or murmuring sounds to one another, as well as gentle grunts to signal displeasure or annoyance.Īll koalas share one common call which is produced when they are afraid. Koalas use a range of sounds to communicate with one another over relatively large distances and the male koala has a very loud call during the breeding season which can be heard over a kilometre away. Koalas have sometimes been observed swimming, but this is rare. On the ground they walk awkwardly on all-fours and can also run. They regularly descend to the ground to change trees and it is there that they are most vulnerable to predators such as dogs, foxes and dingoes. When descending a tree, koalas come down bottom first. Claw marks are usually visible on the trunks of trees regularly used as home trees by koalas. When approaching a tree to climb, koalas spring from the ground and catch their front claws in the bark, then bound upwards. ![]() It is because of this they need to have areas of suitable eucalyptus forests which are large enough to support a healthy koala population and to allow for expansion by maturing young koalas. Most live in societies and are in contact with other Koalas. Some Koalas are mainly solitary animals, except for the breeding season and tend not to congregate in large groups. Koalas are nocturnal animals and are arboreal which means they live in trees. The toxins are deactivated and the paste is digested by bacterial fermentation in a greatly enlarged caecum which is 2 metres (6 feet 6 inches) long, the longest of any mammals. This could be one reason why koalas will eat only certain types of eucalypts and why they will sometimes even avoid them when they are growing on certain soils. Trees which grow on less fertile soils seem to have more toxins than those growing on good soils. The toxins are thought to be produced by the gum trees as a protection against leaf-eating animals like insects. The Koalas digestive system is especially adapted to detoxify the poisonous chemicals in the eucalyptus leaves. Their climbing strength comes from their thigh muscles joining their shins much lower than in other animals. Their lean, muscular bodies help support their weight when climbing up a tree. Koalas have an excellent sense of balance which means they are well suited to life in the trees. A gap between the incisors and the molars, called a ‘diastema’, allows the tongue to move the mass of leaves around the mouth efficiently. Their sharp incisors clip off leaves at the front of their mouths and their grinding cheek teeth chew their food. ![]() Koalas have similar teeth to those of a Kangaroo or Wombat which are adapted to their herbivorous diets.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |