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Koala Bear

Phascolarctos cinereus

"Envelops"

     The Koala Bear, of coastal eastern Australia, is a nocturnal marsupial ranging from 21 to 3 inches in length and weighs between 17-26 pounds.  It has a broad face, big leathery nose, small yellow eyes and fluffy ears.  It is usually grey in color. 

          Koala Bears mate between December and March.  A single baby or "joey" is born 35 days later.  At birth, the baby is 2 centimeters long, weighs less than 1 gram and resembles a lima bean.  It is hairless, blind and has no ears.  The joey makes its way from the birth canal to the pouch completely unaided, but  it already has a well-developed sense of smell and touch, strong forelimbs and claws and an innate sense of direction.  Once inside the safety of the pouch, it attaches itself to one of two teats which swells to fill its mouth.  This will prevent the joey from being dislodged from its source of food.  The mother then contracts her strong sphincter muscles to prevent it from falling out.  The young Koala Bear will remain in the pouch drinking its mother's milk for the next 6-7 months as it develops eyes, ears, fur, etc.  At 22 weeks, its eyes open and it starts to peep out of the pouch where it will begin to feed upon a substance called "pap" which the mother produces in addition to milk.  Pap is a specialized form of feces that forms an important part of the young bears diet allowing it to make the transition from milk to eucalyptus leaves.  Pap is soft and runny and thought to come from the caecum.  It allows the mother to pass on microorganisms essential in the digestion of eucalyptus leaves.

      The joey feeds regularly on pap as it grows and emerges totally from the pouch and lies on its mothers belly to feed.  It will begin to feed on fresh leaves as it rides on her back.  The joey continues to take milk from its mother but is too big to fit in the pouch.  The mothers' teat elongates to protrude from the pouch opening.  The joey will remain with its mother until the appearance outside the pouch of the next season's joey.        .......Declining in numbers, the koala is now a protected species.