KOALA

Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) (Phascolarctos cinereus), arboreal bear of coastal eastern Australia, a marsupial mammal belonging to the family Phalangeridae, sometimes considered a separate family, Phascolarctidae. The koala is about 60 to 85 centimetres (21 to 33 inches) long and virtually tailless, with a stout, pale gray or yellowish body; broad face; big, round leathery nose; small, yellow eyes; and fluffy ears. Its feet are strong-clawed, and the two innermost digits of the front foot in addition to the innermost digit of the hind foot are opposable. The koala feeds, very selectively, on eucalyptus leaves. To aid in digesting about 1.3 kilograms (3 pounds) of leaves daily, it has a caecum (intestinal pouch) about 7 metres (23 feet) long. Unlike other tree-dwelling marsupials, the koala has a pouch opening rearward. It bears one offspring at a time; the youngster remains in the pouch for as long as seven months, clings to the mother's back until it is about a year old, and is weaned on the mother's excreta. A koala may live to about 20 years of age. Formerly killed for their fur and decimated further by disease, koalas dwindled in numbers from several million to a few hundred thousand, and they continue to decline because of human encroachments upon their natural habitats and because of the continued spread of disease.