Koala

KOALA     Koalas are found in the coastal regions of Eastern Australia. It is a marsupial mammal that gives birth to underdeveloped young and the young are carried around in their mother's pouch.     Koalas have strong clawed feet and are able to grip the branches firmly. They are extremely fussy eaters and only feed very selectively on eucalyptus leaves. To aid in the digestion of these leaves, Koalas have a long caecum and extra long intestines.
    Koalas have only one young at a time and their young remains in their mother's pouch for up to 7 months. When it is 1 year old, baby Koalas cling to their mother's back constantly.
    Koalas have become endangered because :

• it is valued for its soft fur.
• if a disease is spread among them, they have no resistance against it because of them having the same genetic pool. Therefore they are not immune to disease and if one Koala gets a virus, the whole community is infected by it as well. Often these diseases bring disastrous results and hundreds or thousands or maybe even millions can be wiped out because of a single virus.
• their habitat is being destroyed. Besides having no living place, it has lost its source of food. As the Koala is an very fussy eater and almost only eats eucalyptus leaves, it has a limited supply of food choice.