KOALA (Co-aah-la)

The Koala is a cuddly stubby little animal with lots of grey fur, a big black nose and large fluffy ears. Its got long arms and short legs with very sharp claws which it uses to cling onto trees and branches. Its hardly got a tail.

It is sometimes called a Koala Bear but it is not a bear at all. Its closest relative is the Wombat.

The Koala lives in eucalyptus trees. It only comes down from the safety of a tree when it wants to move to another tree. The koala wedges itself in a fork of a tree and sleeps during most of the day (as much as 18 hours a day). It is usually active in the night.

It is a very fussy eater. It only eats certain types of eucalyptus leaves. The Koala gets most of the water it needs from the leaves it eats and hardly ever drinks water.
It is a marsupial mammal. The female Koala carries its baby in its pouch or on its back. It has one baby at a time.