Koalas are one of the most interesting animals. They may look like
bears but they aren't, they aren't even closely related. Koalas are
marsupial native to Australia and herbivores.They live for 13 to 18
years and they sleep for 16 to 20 hours a day and they usually eat
the rest of the day.Baby koalas called joeys develop in their mother’s
pouch for about six months. After this time, they’ll ride on their
mum’s back for another six months, only using the pouch to feed
and sleep. Koalas survive on a diet of eucalyptus leaves and can
eat up to a kilogram a day! Pretty impressive, considering eucalyptus
is poisonous to most animals.Their special fibre digesting organ,
called a caecum, helps to detoxify the chemicals in the leaves.
However, they can be quite picky eaters, eating less than 50 of
over 700 eucalypt species. Even then, they’ll often choose leaves
at the top of the tallest trees that contain more liquid and
nutrients. It was thought that koalas didn’t need to drink
because of the moisture they get from munching on juicy
eucalyptus leaves all day. However, they do drink from various
water sources when needed, especially during heatwaves and in
times of drought
