Report text of "Koala"

The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus or, inaccurately, koala bear) is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial or pouched mammal native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae, and its closest living relatives are the wombats. The koala is found in coastal areas of the mainland's eastern and southern regions, inhabiting Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia

The word koala comes from the Dharug gula. Although the vowel 'u' was originally written in the English orthography as "oo" (in spellings such as coola or koolah), it was changed to "oa", possibly in error. The word is mistakenly said to mean "doesn't drink" Because of the koala's resemblance to a bear, it was often miscalled the koala bear, particularly by early settlers. Other names like monkey bear, native bear, and tree-bear have also been used. Indigenous names include cullawine, koolawong, colah, karbor, colo, coolbun, boorabee, burroor, bangaroo, pucawan, banjorah, and burrenbong; many of these mean "no drink". The generic name, Phascolarctos, is derived from the Greek words phaskolos "pouch" and arktos "bear". The specific name, cinereus, is Latin for "ash coloured

The koala is a stocky animal with a large head and vestigial or non-existent tail It has a body length of 60–85 cm (24–33 in) and a weight of 4–15 kg (9–33 lb), making it among the largest arboreal marsupial.[29] Koalas from Victoria are twice as heavy as those from Queensland. The species is sexually dimorphic, with males 50% larger than females. Males are further distinguished from females by their more curved noses and the presence of chest glands, which are visible as hairless patches. As in most marsupials, the male koala has a bifurcated penis, and the female has two lateral vaginas and two separate uteri

*Koalas have a thick fur coat which helps keep the koala warm when it is cold, the fur grows close together to keep the skin dry. Their tails are short and stumpy so that when the Koalas are resting or climbing branches it doesn't get in the way. On the front paw the Koala has 2 thumbs and 3 fingers. This helps them grip branches. On the back paw the toes are spread far enough apart so that it can wrap around boughs. There is also padding on the bottom of each paw to stop the Koala from slipping down the tree. Only female koalas have pouches and it opens at the rear. A special muscle on the Koalas belly controls the opening. This is great when the female has her baby the baby will be placed in her pouch and the baby Koala will be safe and won't fall out.

Koala sleeping in tree Koals are mostly nocturnal. They spend up to 20
hours a day sleeping or resting in trees.

Koalas are herbivores known for how much they like to eat the leaves from
eucalyptus trees.

The Koala phascolarctos cinereus is an arboreal (tree
dwelling), herbivorous (plant eating) marsupial

*Koalas do possess a certain degree of unique social behavior. Many researchers and observers have concluded and identified different kinds of social behaviors of the Koalas which are unique and sometimes common with many other animals as well. However, the strangest behavior of the Koalas is their eating behavior, which is consumption of Eucalyptus leaves in large quantities. Not many mammals dare to eat Eucalyptus leaves as Koalas do and they survive on it all their lives, which is one of the highly strangest behaviors of the Koalas.

*The breeding season for Koalas runs roughly from August to February.

*Females generally start breeding at about three or four years of age and usually produce only one offspring each year. However, not all females in a wild population will breed each year.

*The koala has a gestation period lasting 33–35 days,[77] and gives birth to a single young (although twins occur on occasion).