Class
Mammals
Range
Koalas once lived throughout Australia. Now they are found only in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia.
Habitat
They live in eucalyptus forests, coastal islands, and woodlands.
Body Traits
They have soft, wooly, gray fur and weigh about 30 pounds. They have well-adapted hands and feet for their life in the trees. Their fingers are spread so that it seems like they have 2 thumbs. This gives them a better grip on the tree branches. The foot has a similar set up. This enables them to live high up in the trees where they spend half their day collecting leaves to eat and the other half sleeping!
Habits
Koalas live alone up in the trees (arboreal). Koalas are active at night (nocturnal), sleeping all day long.
Diet
They eat eucalyptus leaves, bark and mistletoe.
Predators
Predators are dingoes and large owls.
Reproduction
Koalas have 1 baby per year. Females are pregnant for 35 days (gestation). The koala is a marsupial so carry its young in its pouch. The tiny baby lives in the pouch for about 6 months.
Lifespan and/or Conservation Status
Koalas can live 17 years in the wild. They are listed as Lower Risk - near threatened but there is concern about their future because of habitat destruction.
Full Classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Diprotodontia
Suborder: Vombatiformes
Family: Phascolarctidae
Genus: Phascolarctos
Species: Phascolarctos cinereus
Citing This Reference
CITING RESEARCH REFERENCES
When you research information you must cite the reference. Citing for websites is different from citing from books, magazines and periodicals. The style of citing shown here is from the MLA Style Citations (Modern Language Association).
When citing a WEBSITE the general format is as follows.
Author Last Name, First Name(s). "Title: Subtitle of Part of Web Page, if appropriate." Title: Subtitle: Section of Page if appropriate. Sponsoring/Publishing Agency, If Given. Additional significant descriptive information. Date of Electronic Publication or other Date, such as Last Updated. Day Month Year of access <URL>.
All text on Exploring Nature was written by author, Sheri Amsel
Here is an example of citing this page:
Amsel, Sheri. “Mammalia.” Koala. Exploring Nature Educational Resource. © 2005 - 2010. September 9, 2010. <http://exploringnature.org/db/detail.php?dbID=43&detID=967>
- Coloring Page
- Labeling Page
- Download Hi-Res B&W Diagram
- Download Hi-Res Color Diagram
- Download Hi-Res In-Habitat Poster
