Native to the eucalyptus forests of Australia, koalas are best known for their adorable, teddy-bear like appearance. However, there is more than meets the eye with these fascinating creatures. Keep reading for some koala-ty facts you didn't know about koalas!
1) Koalas are not bears, they are marsupials like kangaroos and carry their young (joeys) in their pouch for about nine months. Koalas have a gestational period of about 35 days and when the joey is about the size of jelly bean, it makes its way to it's mother's pouch.
2) Koalas eat eucalyptus, and only eucalyptus. To other animals, eucalyptus is highly toxic and could cause them to become sick. Koalas have an elongated digestive system that allows them to break down the eucalyptus toxins and not become sick. Fun fact, koalas are pretty picky eaters and tend to only eat the top, most tender leaves of the eucalyptus.
3) Koalas have fingerprints just like humans. Unlike most animals, if you took an imprint of a koalas hand or foot, the print would be unique to that koala individually.
4) Like humans, koalas have an opposable thumb. Unlike humans, koalas have two of them! Having two opposable thumbs makes it much easier for them to grip the trees and navigate from branch to branch.
5) Koalas don't drink water. They receive all of the water they need through the high amounts of eucalyptus they eat.
6) Surprisingly, these adorable animals have very deep vocalizations referred to as a 'bellow.'
7) Do you enjoy a good nap? Well, so do koalas. When they're not feasting on eucalyptus leaves they spend about 18 hours a day sleeping!
