They use their incisors for grasping leaves and molars and premolars to chew and grind their food. Koalas, when eating, use their hind paws and one fore-paw to hold their food. Koalas can additionally feed on the flowers, bark, stems, and buds of the eucalyptus tree. They do so due to the high protein content found in these selected species. Out of the 600 species of eucalyptus, koalas only feed on the leaves of 30 species. Did you know they primarily feed on the leaves of the eucalyptus trees? Koalas are strict herbivores and therefore only feed on plant matter. Their lifespan under the care of trained individuals is 16 to 20 years. Koalas can live for 12 to 14 years in the wild, whereas in captivity, they live longer. Joeys are weaned off their mother’s milk after a year. Joeys will remain in their mother’s pouches for the first 6 to 7 months of their lives. Koalas, like other marsupials, give birth to underdeveloped young ones that have to crawl to their pouches. Female koalas also communicate using bellows but in lower tones. Adult males use bellows to intimidate rivals and attract females. Koalas communicate by making noises known as bellows. They also establish their territories close to females. Male koalas mark the areas they rule with secretions from their scent glands found on their chests. Bonding is commonly seen mainly between mothers and their offspring (joeys). Koala bears are asocial animals meaning they don’t bond much with each other and other animals. They can be further told apart from females by the presence of their large noses and scent glands on their chests, revealed by hairless patches. Male koala bears are distinctively larger than their female counterparts, with males being 50% larger than females. They also possess strong thigh muscles that further help them climb effectively. Koalas climb trees to reach food due using their sharp claws. Their large ears help them hear well, and both male and female koalas can identify mates from a distance. The average koala stands at 60-85 centimeters tall and weighs between 4-25 kilograms. You can easily recognize koalas by their stout, tailless bodies, round heads, fluffy ears, and spoon-faced noses. Koalas mainly inhabit eucalyptus forests in Queensland, South Wales, Victoria, and Southern Australia. Other examples include kangaroos and wombats. Marsupials have pouches on their bellies and give birth to underdeveloped babies. There is no evidence to suggest that any such repellents work.Koalas ( Phascolarctos cinereus) or koala bears are sometimes known as herbivorous marsupials native to Australia. There are some suggested folk remedies that are said to act as a repellent to Drop Bears, these include having forks in the hair or Vegemite or toothpaste spread behind the ears. Most attacks are considered accidental and there are no stories of incidents being fatal. The urban legend focuses on bush walkers being 'dropped on' by drop bears, resulting in injury including mainly lacerations and occasionally bites. If the prey is small enough Drop Bears will haul it back up the tree to feed without harassment from other predators. The initial impact often stuns the prey, allowing it to be bitten on the neck and quickly subdued. Once prey is within view, the Drop Bear will drop as much as eight metres to pounce on top of the unsuspecting victim. Often, prey such as macropods are larger than the Drop Bear itself.ĭrop Bears supposedly hunt by ambushing ground dwelling animals from above, waiting up to as much as four hours to make a surprise kill. Stories of kill sites and examination of scats suggest mainly medium to large species of mammal make a substantial proportion of the animal's diet. However there are also some reports of them from South-east South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges and Kangaroo Island. Distributionĭrop Bears can be found in the densely forested regions of the Great Dividing Range in South-eastern Australia. Never encountered near roads or human habitation. HabitatĬlosed canopy forest as well as open woodland on the margins of dense forest. It lacks canines, using broad powerful premolars as biting tools instead. The creature is told as a heavily built animal with powerful forearms for climbing and holding on to prey. IdentificationĪround the size of a leopard or very large dog with coarse orange fur with some darker mottled patterning (as seen in most Koalas). The Drop Bear legend tells of a large, arboreal, predatory marsupial related to the Koala that 'drops' on its prey.

Koala predators