Koala Bears Essay

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Introduction The Endangered Animal I picked is a koala bear. I picked this animal because I think its really cute and cuddly, and I also wanted to learn all about them. I didn’t know that the koala bear was endangered. Which makes me sad to think some day we might not have koalas. Koalas have a very unusual diet that could kill other animals and are very tiny. Habitat Where do koalas live?. They inhabit Queensland and New Whales which are states in the Eastern part of Australia. They live in woodlands in Eucalyptus trees, and live and eat only from these trees. The number of koalas is determined by the number of trees. Koalas are highly specialized to survive only in one type of habitat, in woodland with plenty of eucalyptus trees, also known as gum trees. Places like that provide the koala with food, water, safety from ground predators, and all other needs. Koalas do not have dens, tree- holes, or nests. They sleep, eat, and breed on the branches. Unlike most mammals, koalas never make dens or permanent homes. They do have home territories, but they will not stay in one particular tree. The koala is an arboreal animal. Arboreal means “living in trees”. Koalas live, eat, and sleep in the top branches of eucalyptus trees, also known as gum trees. Male koalas have a special area on their chest that leaves a scent. They rub their chests on their “home trees” to leave their scent and mark the trees as their own. Diet The main food that Koalas eat is eucalyptus leaves. Eucalyptus leaves are very fibrous and low in nutrition. Eucalyptus leaves contain a lot of water so koalas don’t have to drink. The koala’s metabolism rate is also regulated in a way to complement the heat insulation of the fur. The metabolism of the koala is quite slow it is only 74% of other animals’ metabolism rate. With such a slow metabolic rate, the animal also has

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