Behaviors of Koalas

It was my first ever encounter with koalas while on a hike in the Great Otway National Park. Koalas are native to Australia (they live only in Australia), they inhabit eucalyptus woodlands and found only in coastal areas of South Australia, Victoria and Queensland. They live up to 18 years in the wild. They are irresistibly cute with their round fluffy ears, soft fur, and spoon shaped noses.

Koalas eat mostly eucalyptus leaves which are limited in nutrition and high in toxins causing that the bears sleep up to 20 hours per day! Because they get so little energy from their diet they spend only 4 minutes per day in active moments and 15 minutes on social behaviors. The rest is napping between chewing.

They typically eat and sleep in the same tree as long as a day. They descend to the ground only to walk to another tree so I guess this counts as 5 minutes of active movement per day. 

Koalas were hunted for food by Aboriginals which is understandable. But as Europeans arrived they hunted heavily for bears for their fur and over 2 millions were killed which is horrid. Today koalas live in many protected areas and conservation parks but their population is decreasing caused by their habitat destruction. 

They make numerous facial expressions and this one gave me a moment of an eye contact, and as he was sitting on a very low branch I could admire his thick fur and cute ears. They look very cuddly but they have very sharp teeth and claws. Apparently they can run as fast as a rabbit which is difficult to imagine. A beautiful creature.