Blogging Through the Alphabet ~ “K” for Koala #abcblogging

Joining up with Marcy over at Ben & Me for “Blogging through the Alphabet”.

Since our family has a general love and appreciation for all the animals the Lord has created…I am going to attempt to “Blog through the Alphabet” using animals. Here is what we have done so far:

A for Alpaca   B for Bearded Dragon   C for Crocodile   D for Donkey  E for Elephant Shrew   F for Fennec Fox   G for Grey Mouse Lemur   H for Howler Monkey   I for Indian Palm Squirrel  J is for Jellyfish

And now…K is for Koala…

• The koala’s scientific name is Phasclarctos Cinereus.
• Koalas live in eastern Australia.
• Koalas have sharp claws and two thumbs on their front paws – to help them climb, to hold onto the tree and to grip their food.
• They live in eucalyptus trees and eat the leaves. Each full grown Koala eats about 2-1/2 pounds of leaves per day! (That is a lot!) They do not drink much water as they get the necessary moisture from the leaves they eat.
• Koalas may look soft and cuddly, but to the touch, not so much. They have a thick wooly fur that protects them from both heat and cold and also helps to repel water. In fact, their fur is the thickest of all marsupials.
• They eat so much of this that they take on a bit of the smell…they smell like cough drops!
• The male Koala has a dark scent gland in the center of his chest. He rubs this on the tree in order to mark his territory.
• Koalas also communicate with each other by making a noise like a snore and then a belch, known as a “bellow”.
• They are nocturnal and can sleep for up to 18 hours a day!
• Koala’s are marsupials so the mama carries her young in a pouch until it is old enough to be outside the pouch. They normally ride in the pouch until about six months and then ride on her back or belly for another six months.
• They weigh around 25 pounds and get to about two feet tall.
• Their average life span is about 20 years.
• The koala can run as fast as a rabbit.
• They do not live in big groups but rather prefer to be alone. They live in loose-knit groups if enough suitable trees are present, but only one animal per tree.
• Koalas breed once a year. Gestation lasts 35 days, after which one koala is born.
• Koala babies are known by several names. “pouch young”, “back young”, “joeys” and “cubs”.
• When koalas are born they are only 2 centimeters long, which is about the same as a jellybean.
• The biggest problem for Koalas is that their bushland (or “habitat”) is being cut down to make way for houses.

You can enjoy a fun Koala printout here.

I hope you have learned some fun things about the Koala! Come back next week to see what interesting animal we discuss for L!

Here’s praying we all have fun learning!

 

Tagged: Animals, Homeschooling