A cute and funny koala usually makes people smile and tender. This leisurely and fluffy, charming marsupial bear belongs to the koala family, which includes a single species. The animal lives only in Australia and on the surrounding islands. Interestingly, in fact, he has nothing to do with bears, but belongs to the family of primates.
For a long time, Europeans were unaware of the existence of these amazing animals. When the famous James Cook landed on the shores of Australia, he simply did not notice the koalas. Only in 1798 they were discovered in the Blue Mountains by a certain Price. The natives called the animals, reminiscent of sloths from South America, koala, which means "teetotal". These cute marsupials don't really drink, except during periods of severe drought and when they get sick. In ordinary life, they have enough moisture, which they get from the leaves of the eucalyptus and the dew that accumulates on them. By the way, besides eucalyptus leaves, koalas do not eat anything. This is why they are so slow. Indeed, there is little protein in the foliage of eucalyptus, therefore, marsupial bears have a metabolism twice as slow as that of other mammals. Koalas have pleasant soft and dense fur, most often gray, but sometimes reddish. On the abdomen, the hair is lighter than on the back. Their thumbs and forefingers are opposed to others so that koalas can comfortably cling to branches. Strong, sharp claws serve the same purpose. When the animal sticks them into a tree, it does not fall down, even if it falls asleep soundly. And koalas sleep a lot, almost 20 hours a day. However, even when they are awake, they usually sit phlegmatically, clinging to a tree, and observe what is happening around. Only at night do the animals become more active. They move from branch to branch to find food. Marsupial bears almost never descend to the ground. At the same time, koalas, in principle, are quite dexterous and strong, they can jump perfectly and, if necessary, run from danger with a heavy gallop. Marsupial bears can even swim. Another unique feature of koalas is that they have papillary patterns on their fingers, very similar to human ones. In nature, koalas live alone. Each female has its own area, males move without adhering to territorial boundaries, but they do not at all crave to communicate with their own kind. Only when the mating season begins, koalas gather in small groups. As a rule, there are always more females than males. Therefore, a kind of harem of 2-3 ladies is formed around each gentleman. The koala lover calls out to her friends with an eerie scream for a human ear, reminiscent of a mixture of rusty door hinges squeaking and a fat drunkard's snoring. But for the hairy ears of the chosen one, this sound is like wonderful music, because it is a song of love. True, a koala lover makes a worthless husband. When a baby is born, the male leaves the female and the cub. The little koala lives in a bag with her mother for six months and feeds on her milk. Then the koalchink moves to the mother's back and so the year grows. Then the daughters leave in search of their land, and the sons stay with their mother for another year or two. In nature, cute koalas have almost no enemies. But the animals were almost exterminated by people: in the first half of the 20th century, they sewed clothes from fur, pleasant to the touch. Today the Australian authorities are trying to rectify the situation. They have created several koala parks where rare animals live in their natural environment. By the way, koalas can be tamed very well. In childhood, they happily sleep in the hands of their owners, and adult animals become strongly attached to those who care for them. Koalas require love and attention, "cry" when they are not paid attention to, and calm down only when they are in the hands of a person.
