- Koala is a Koori word which means "no drink"
- Koalas are marsupials - NOT bears
- They live for between 12 and 16 years
- Adult koalas weigh approximately 8-12kg in Victoria and 5-7kg in Queensland
- The koala's closest relative is the wombat. Both have backwards facing pouches. In the wombat, this prevents them getting dirt in their pouch as they dig. But in the Koala it means they need very strong pouch muscles to make sure the joey does not fall out
- Koalas can swim
- Two of the koala's five digits on the hand are thumbs
- Koalas eat a variety of eucalypt leaves: Manna gum, blue gum, swamp gum, stringy bark. They have even been seen eating acacias and pine
- The koala joey is born one month after conception
- The koala joey is in the pouch til approximately 36 weeks when they weigh approximately 1 kg. From this time they are on their mother's back
- Joeys are dependent on the mother for approximately 18 months
- Threats to koalas are loss of habitat, attacks by dogs, cars
- Koalas are classed as vulnerable
- Koalas' most serious illness is Chlamydia. This is a bacterial disease causing infertility and conjunctivitis which needs long term antibiotics to treat
- Chlamydia is sexually transmitted
- Over two million koalas were killed from 1907 to 1927
- In 1920, 18 koalas were brought from Victoria to Kangaroo Island to ensure the survival of the species
- There are koala habitats all over the Macedon Ranges
- There has been a nocticable decline in koala numbers in the last several years
For more information about the Koala, visit the Australian Koala Foundation.
For more information about the Koala in the Macedon Ranges, visit the Macedon Ranges Koala Project.
