Koala: The pouched animal that sleeps in the eucalyptus

The koala clinging to a eucalyptus tree, dozing slowly, is for many people the very picture of Australia. But remember: the koala is not a bear. It is a marsupial — like a kangaroo, it carries its baby in a pouch. Let's meet it.

Its body

The koala is round and plump with thick, soft fur, and claws that grip a trunk firmly. Its pouch opens upwards or forwards, and the baby (called a joey) feeds and grows inside it. The koala's nose is black, and its sense of smell lets it tell the leaves of different eucalyptus trees apart — it is very choosy about which ones it will eat.

Where it lives and what it eats

Eucalyptus leaves are low in calories and laced with toxins, so they are not good food for most animals. But the koala has a solution: its liver breaks down the toxins and an enormous caecum ferments the fibre, squeezing out the nutrition. The price is very little energy, so a koala sleeps a great deal to save strength. It eats almost nothing but eucalyptus leaves, and accepts only a few of the many species.

Where it is found

Koalas live in the eucalyptus forests of eastern and south-eastern Australia. Habitat loss and bushfires have cut their numbers sharply, and in 2022 the Australian government listed the koala as endangered. Protecting the eucalyptus forests is protecting the koala's home.

A note for grown-ups

You could talk with a child about a favourite food that has little nutrition: why does a koala sleep so much? Because its eucalyptus food gives so little energy. Helping a child see that an animal's daily rhythm often follows its food is a natural biology lesson.