Koalas

Let's Learn About Koalas

Word of the Week

Marsupial

Marsupials are a group of mammals that carry their young in a pouch. Most marsupials give birth to small, undeveloped offspring that continue to develop in their pouch.


Koalas, kangaroos, opossums, and wombats are all examples of marsupials.

Fast Facts

Where do koalas live?

Koalas are found in woodlands and forests of eastern and southeastern Australia.


Koalas are arboreal animals, meaning they live in the trees. They are often found in Eucalyptus forests as Eucalyptus leaves are an important part of their diet.

What do koalas eat?

Koalas are herbivores.


Most of a koala's diet is made of leaves, so we call them folivores. They eat leaves of Eucalyptus trees and many other tree species. Koalas are specialist feeders, which is another way of saying they are picky eaters!

What traits do koalas have?

Koalas are a single species of marsupial known for...

  • Living an arboreal lifestyle.
  • Being picky eaters.
  • Moving around very slowly.
  • Carrying their offspring in a pouch (or on their back!).
  • Having gray, fluffy fur.

How many koalas are there?

Most scientists estimate there are less than 100,000 koalas in the wild.


While this may seem like a large amount, some estimates are as low as 50,000. Because they only live in one type of habitat and eat one type of food, they could disappear quickly if anything (like a wildfire) destroyed their habitat.

Species Spotlight

Marsupials

Infraclass: Marsupialia

Did you know that marsupials like koalas are about the size of a jellybean when they’re first born? While having a tiny, underdeveloped baby would not work for most mammals, it is no problem for marsupials.


Marsupials are a group of mammals that have one important trait in common — females have a pouch for their offspring! Koalas, kangaroos, wombats, quokkas, and opossums are some of the most well-known marsupials. Most marsupials live in Australia and the surrounding islands, but many also live in South America. Only one species is found in North America, the Virginia opossum.


Marsupials typically have a short gestation and give birth to very small offspring that still need time to develop. Young marsupials are called joeys. When they’re born, joeys crawl across their mother’s fur and into the pouch. They stay in the pouch for several months feeding on milk, growing, and developing fur. Once big enough, young marsupials will begin leaving their mother’s pouch for short periods. Over time, they spend more and more time outside of the pouch until they are able to care for themselves.


While this strategy might seem a little complicated, it does have some perks! Young marsupials stay hidden from predators and have somewhere to rest safely in their mother's pouch. Marsupials can also raise more than one offspring at a time! They can be pregnant with one joey, have one in the pouch, and one out of the pouch. This allows them to reproduce faster than many other mammals, which keeps their population strong.

BRAIN BLAST

Like most marsupials, koalas carry their offspring in a pouch. How do you think having a pouch to carry offspring benefits marsupials?

Conservation Corner

Australian Wildfires

Wildfires have been a normal part of life in some parts of Australia for hundreds of years. Plants and animals in these dry, fire-prone ecosystems have adaptations to survive frequent fires. Some even need the fires to survive or reproduce! However, recent wildfires grew too large and spread outside these ecosystems. They reached ecosystems that are not adapted for fires, including the eucalyptus forests that koalas call home.


In 2019, lightning strikes, cigarette butts, and several other events caused wildfires to break out across Australia. They burned for months, releasing harmful gases into the air and destroying ecosystems. Millions of animals, including koalas, were harmed by the fires. Once the fires were finally put out, a rescue mission started to find and save the animals that survived the fires but now had no food, water, or shelter.


To find koalas, search dogs were trained to smell their fur and scat! Rescue teams searched the burned forests and woodlands with dogs leading them toward surviving koalas. The rescued koalas were taken to rescue centers with food, water, and veterinarians where they could rest and recover. Fires like this have become more common due to the changing climate. We can all help prevent wildfires by reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by using less energy.

Watch: Bear the Detection Dog

Marsupial Madness

Determine which animals below are marsupials and which are not.

Marsupial Madness Printable

Koala Challenge

Koalas in Their Natural Habitat

Learn More!

Glossary

Adaptation

The process by which a species becomes more fit for its environment over the course of several generations. It is a result of natural selection.

Arboreal

Living in the trees.

Camouflage

The ability for an organism to blend into their surroundings usually to hide from prey or predators.

Endemic

Living in one place and nowhere else.

Folivore

An herbivore that specializes in eating leaves.

Generalist

An animal that feeds on a wide variety of food items.

Gestation

The time period in which an animal is developing in their mother's womb.

Herbivore

An animal that eats mostly plants.

Mammal

A group of endothermic (warm-blooded) vertebrates that are covered in hair, produce milk for offspring,  and generally give birth to live offspring.

Marsupial

A group of mammals that carry their young in a pouch.

Offspring

An animal's baby or young.

Predator

An animal that hunts other animals for food.

Prey

An animal that is hunted and eaten by another animal.

Species

A closely related group of animals with similar characteristics that are capable of reproducing (example: tigers).

Specialist

An animal that feeds on one or just a few types of food.

Territorial

Used to describe an animal that defends its territory (home) from others.

Vertebrate

An animal that has a backbone.

Share by: