Koala Bears Facts
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Koala Bears?
Because of the number of people who say "koala bears", I will use the term occasionally on this page. But every time I do, remember I'm just translating the Latin ;-).
On this koala page, you will find some great koala pictures and videos and also some links to koala coloring pictures. You will find out some amazing facts about koala babies, what koalas eat, what sound koalas make, where koalas live and other interesting facts about koala bears. Don't forget to try the koala quiz to see how much you know about koala bears! You may want to wait until you've read all the information here before attempting the quiz.
Koala Bears Table of Contents
Koala - the "native bear" - an old definition
Where do koala bears live?
What do koalas eat?
How much can a koala bear? (Koala drinking water after bushfire)
Plush koala bears to cuddle
Koala pictures
What do koala bears do all day?
Sleeping koala pictures
Baby koalas
Newborn Baby Koalas
Cute baby koala part 1
Older baby koalas
Cute baby koala part 2
Baby koala pictures
More koala facts
What sound does a koala make?
Koala territory
Find out more about koalas
Hold a koala
Still more about koalas
Koala bear - where does the name come from?
Koala activities
Koala coloring page collections
Realistic Koala coloring pages
Cartoon Koala coloring pages
Fictional Koala coloring pages
Koala bear crafts
Make Some Koala Greeting Cards
Koalas on TV
Adventures of the Little Koala
Blinky Bill
The Koala Brothers
Koala Quiz - How much do you know about koalas?
Find out about another Australian marsupial
Any thoughts?
Koala References
Basic Koala Facts
Koala - the "native bear" - an old definition
"KOALA--Aboriginal name for native bear.
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NATIVE BEAR--A small marsupial animal with grey fur and full expressive face (see KOALA)."
(From A Dictionary of Australian Words And Terms by Gilbert H. Lawson 1924)
Koala Facts #1
Koalas are not bears but marsupials - mammals with a pouch (like kangaroos, possums and wombats).
Where do koala bears live?
Koala habitat
Koalas are found down the east coast of mainland Australia - in the states of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.
Koalas live in dry eucalyptus (gum tree) forests where they can find their prefered leaves. Most of their time is spent eating, sitting or sleeping in eucalyptus trees or other types of trees growing in these forests.
Oh. By the way, we have no true bears in Australia - except in zoos!
What do koalas eat?
Koala food
The koala is a fussy eater, only eating from several different species of eucalyptus (or gum) trees and very occasionally from some other trees such as wattles or tea trees. They will eat the leaves, shoots, fruits, flowers and even, at times, the bark from young branches. Koala bears (think Latin!) eat about 450-680g (1 to 1½ pounds) of leaves a day. That's about 10% of their body weight. The koala can usually get all the nutrients and moisture it needs from the oil in the gum leaves (have you heard of eucalyptus oil?) and the rain and dew which collects on them. Gum leaves are low in nutrition and contain certain chemicals which are toxic to most other animals. Koalas have special bacteria in their guts which enable them to digest these leaves.Sometimes koalas will eat soil which can provide it with essential minerals such as calcium. Mmmm, mud pies! Only occasionally will a koala drink from a waterhole or other water source. See below for a video of a koala drinking from a water bottle just after a bushfire.
Koala facts #2
Koalas eat eucalyptus leaves and sometimes dirt.
How much can a koala bear?
This koala was deparately in need of a drink after surviving a bushfire in Victoria, Australia in the Summer of 2009.
Stuffed koala bears to love and cuddle
Plush koala teddy bears
Webkinz Plush Signature Series Pet Koala
Amazon Price: $19.00 (as of 02/14/2012)
This koala looks so realistic and ever so cuddly.
12" Koala With Baby Plush Stuffed Animal Toy
Amazon Price: $15.12 (as of 02/14/2012)
A mother with her joey
Koala pictures
Click on each koala picture to see a bigger view
Don't you just want to cuddle these koala "bears"?
Koala facts #3
Koalas have two thumbs on each of their front paws.
(See the koala picture below)
What do koala bears do all day?
A koala is arboreal (which means it spends most of its life in trees), usually perched in the fork of a eucalyptus (gum) tree. It doesn't have a tail like a monkey to help it in balancing in trees but it does have long arms and strong claws with two "thumbs" (opposing digits) on each front paw to enable it to get a secure grip. Koalas may jump from one branch to another or from one tree to another but usually a koala will descend bottom first down a tree to cross to another tree on the ground.
You might like to watch this video showing a koala walking, running and jumping and to see how it descends a tree bottom first.
Koala facts #4
Koalas spend up to 20 hours a day sleeping.
Zzzzzzz. Please don't disturb me....
Koala facts #5
When is cold, wet or windy, a koala will sleep curled up in a ball. When it is hot or humid a koala will sleep all sprawled out with arms and legs hanging.
Check out the koala pictures above and below. Can you tell what the weather's like by looking at them? (Answers hidden below)
Click and drag your mouse over the yellow bars to see the answers:
The first koala picture: Hot or humid
The second koala picture: Cold, wet or windy
Sleeping koala pictures
Now that you're an expert, how about a weather forecast from these photos? You may want to click on each photo to see it more clearly.
What do you want to learn about koalas?
Baby Koalas
All About Baby Koalas
Baby koalas certainly look cute. See pictures and videos and find out more about baby koalas below. You will find out what a baby koala is called (is it a puppy, a kitten, a cub or something else?), what they eat (ewww - do you really want to know?) and what these babies do with their days. Koala facts #6
Baby koalas are called joeys.
Newborn Baby Koalas
Buy this koala poster at Amazon.com
Like all baby marsupials, baby koalas are called joeys. When the baby koala is born, it is still far from developed. It is only about 1 inch (2.5cm) long and is blind and hairless. But it has strong enough front legs able to be able to pull itself across its mother's belly about 2 inches (5cm) and enter her pouch. The joey will attach itself to one of the two teats in its mother's pouch. Click here to see a picture of the newborn, hairless joey.
The baby koala will stay in the pouch, attached to the teat, drinking milk, for the next 3 to 4 months. At this stage it may venture out into the open although, even now, it is now barely covered in fur.
Koala facts #7
A new-born koala is about the size of a jellybean.
Cute baby koala part 1
Older baby koalas
At about 22 weeks the baby koala will begin to eat its mother's pap, a special type of soft, runny poo (not the usual hard, dry pellets) to introduce the necessary bacteria into its gut so that it will be able to digest eucalyptus leaves. This pap is made up of partially digested eucalyptus leaves. The joey will continue eating this pap until it is about 30 weeks old. After this time it will begin eating leaves.
The joey will venture outside the pouch for the first time at about 27 weeks and by 30 weeks it will spend the majority of the day outside the pouch riding on its mother's back or sometimes clinging to her belly. At this stage the koala baby weighs about 0.6 pounds (½ kg). By 36 weeks, the joey weighs about 2.2 pounds (1 kg) and is too big to fit in its mother's pouch any more. It will continue to ride on its mother's back until it weighs almost 4½ pounds (2 kg) - about 1 year old. The joey can be a quarter of the mother's weight.
In good conditions, once she reaches maturity (at 3 or 4 years), a female koala usually has one baby a year. Twin baby koalas are not very common. It is thought that there is a 1 in 10,000 chance of twins being born. If twins are born, it is likely that only one will survive to maturity since, as they grow, there is not really enough room in the pouch for two young koalas. In captivity, a female will happily adopt another older baby koala temporarily so that she carries one on her back and one on her belly at the same time. Talk about overload!
Koala facts #8
Joeys eat their mother's pap (poo) to give them the bacteria to help them digest eucalyptus leaves later.
Cute baby koala part 2
an abandoned baby koala
Baby koala pictures
Click on each koala picture to see a bigger view
Photos courtesy of jnpk1979, Just Being Myself,deeleea, belgianchocolate, Yvonne in Willowick Ohio, Lachlan & Marline, meta_law, TheGirlsNY, OctopusHat, oli23000
What do you want to learn about koalas?
More Koala Facts
More Koala Facts
Do you know what sound a koala makes? Have you ever seen an angry koala? Watch some koala videos and find out about the koala's territory and more in this section. What sound does a koala make?
Click the play button to listen to this koala grunting
Koala Territory
Koalas tend to live alone except for a mother with her baby. Each koala has a home range which is an area of between 3 and 500 acres (1 and 200 hectares) depending on the fertility of the area, the number of suitable eucalypts available and the hierarchy dominance of the koala. We tend to think of koalas as peaceful and cuddly. But this is not always the case. If a male koala witnesses an intruding male in his home range, he will attempt to scare him off, first by bellowing at him. If this fails to deter the trespasser, he will rush at him, trying to grab him and a fight may ensue.
Find out more about koalas
Koala (Life Cycle of A...)
Amazon Price: $4.90 (as of 02/14/2012)
Hold a koala
(Sorry. I couldn't resist adding this old picture of my two children holding a baby koala)
Still more about koalas
Koala Book, The
Amazon Price: $23.10 (as of 02/14/2012)
Lots of information and lovely koala pictures in this book.
Koala bear - where does the name come from?
Some resources say that the word "koala" comes from an Australian aboriginal word meaning "no drink". But perhaps koala was a combination of some of the Aboriginal names for the koala such as cullawine, carbora or kola.In early written accounts of the European settlers in Australia, koalas were referred to by these Aboriginal names or as bears, monkeys or sloths. Most often, it seems, koalas were referred to as native bears. I guess people just took what they knew and applied it to what they saw in this new land. And because koalas spend most of their time high up in trees, it would have been difficult to get a good look at them and they could have been mistaken for something else.
Even in children's books, the koala was called a native bear so it is easy to see where the name koala bear came from.
Then Dot opened her eyes very wide and looked round, and saw a funny Native Bear on the tree trunk behind her. . . .
"You dear little Native Bear!" she exclaimed, at once stroking its head.
"Am I a Native Bear?" asked the animal in a meek voice. "I never heard that before. I thought I was a Koala. I've always been told so, but of course one never knows oneself. What are you? Do you know?"
(from Dot and the Kangaroo by Ethel C. Pedley 1920)
The whole bushland was twittering with the news, for a baby bear was a great event. Mrs Koala had a baby every two years, and as Mrs Rabbit had very, very many during that time, you can just imagine how surprised everyone was.
(from Blinky Bill by Dorothy Wall 1939)
The old koala picture here is from Mammals of Australia, Vol. I Plate 14 by John Gould, 1863
What do you want to learn about koalas?
Koala Coloring Pages and Crafts
Koala Coloring and Crafts
I have found a wonderful collection of koala coloring pages and koala crafts for your enjoyment. This is a great way to learn about koalas!
Koala bear coloring page collections
Koala pictures to color
Koala coloring page collections
coloriage.tfou.fr/koala.htm
Seven lovely koala bears to color
www.vrac-coloriages.net/classique/animaux/koala.html
Several koala bear pictures to color, including 4 mothers with baby koalas and a koala baking a pie - I wonder if it's a gum leaf pie...
www.dltk-teach.com/alphabuddies/mkposter.html
There are a couple of "K is for Koala" pages to color here.
www.fun-website.com/bojankezadjecu-coloringpages
There are two koala pictures to color here
Links checked February 2012
Realistic koala coloring pages
www.nationalgeographic.com/coloringbook/sketch_koalas.html
color a koala with a close-up of the claws and face
www.first-school.ws/t/cpkoala.htm
A koala munching on a eucalyptus leaf
printables.kaboose.com/koalas.html
A koala and joey in the fork of a tree
www.freecoloringpagefun.com/animals/australian/koala6.shtml
A koala in a tree to color
www.gratis-malvorlagen.de/Tiere/49/Gemischt4_HFB-0050/
Koala with baby koala in tree
www.gratis-malvorlagen.de/Tiere/50/Gemischt4_HFB-0129/
Koala with joey walking on the ground
www.gratis-malvorlagen.de/Tiere/54/Gemischt6_HFB-0073/
Koala in tree
www.thecoloringbarn.com/animal-coloring.html
Find "Koala Coloring Page" for a koala in a tree
www.animal-dino.com/animal_coloring/koala1.html
2 koalas in a tree with kangaroos below
environnement.ecoles.free.fr/Coloriages_dessins/coloriage%20koala.htm
Koala on the side of a tree
free-stainedglasspatterns.com/2koala.html
A koala picture in two halves that you can color
barbie-coloring-pages.blogspot.com/2008_12_01_archive.html
Barbie holding a koala
Links checked Nov 2011
Cartoon koala bear coloring pages
Above koala picture modified from clker.com.
www.freecoloringpagefun.com/animals/australian/koala5.shtml
A cartoon koala hanging from a branch
www.colormegood.com/colormegoodPDFthumbnails/animals/koalas/koala04.
pdf
A cute girl face to face with a koala.
www.thecolor.com/Coloring/Koala.aspx
A koala to color online
www.animaljr.com/100-animal-coloring-pages/koala-coloring-page/
A koala sitting in a tree (where else?)
www.animaljr.com/cute-animals-coloring-pages/cartoon-animal-koala/
Another cute koala to color
www.gratis-malvorlagen.de/Kinder/2/Baerchen_HFB-0087/
koala dressed in tux
www.jazzles.com/html/k.html
K is for kind kid, koala and kangaroo
Links checked December 2011
Fictional Koala Coloring Pages
www.123coloring.com/animals/coloringpages,koalas.html
Several cute koala coloring pages including Blinky Bill - a naughty koala bear boy from the novels by Dorothy Wall
www.boowakwala.com/kids/boowakwala-homeprintpaint.html
100 coloring pages from Boowa and Kwala
jolicoloriage.free.fr/thumbnails.php?album=94
Coloring pages from the TV show Koala Brothers
www.coloriez.com/coloriage-freres-koalas.html
Lots of great pictures from the Koala Brothers to color
koalabrothers.treehousetv.com/
Click on printables then choose colouring (to get 3 Koala Brothers pictures to color) or Dot-to-dot (for join the dots koala pictures).
Links checked January 2012
Koala Bear Crafts
Click to enlarge this koala pattern to use as a perler bead pattern or cross stitch pattern.
Try your hand at some koala bear crafts - origami koalas, a paper koala to cut out and paste, a climbing koala, a koala mask, birthday party invitations to print, a koala merry-go-round, and a complicated card koala to cut out and paste together.
www.australiaday.vic.gov.au/student-resources/fun-activities-to-make-and-do.html
Make a cute origami koala face. Either print out their paper for a pre-printed face or use your own paper and draw on your own koala face. Make a couple in different sizes. Then you can make a greeting card using your origami faces - one for a mother koala bear and one for a baby koala.
en.origami-club.com//animal/koala/index.html
Origami koala. You can either see it in diagram form or watch an animation of the folding
www.shoko-origami.com/archive/archive.htm
Scroll down to the make a card section for a cute koala with koala joey origami card
www.dltk-kids.com/animals/mpaperkoala.htm
A printable koala to cut our and paste together for young children
www.dltk-kids.com/animals/mkoala.html
Make a koala out of a toilet paper roll
www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/Maskkoala.shtml
Make a koala mask
www.activityvillage.co.uk/koala_mask.htm
Another koala mask
koalabrothers.treehousetv.com/
Click on printables then choose Make & Do to get 3 Koala Brothers cards and a birthday invitation to print.
www.thetoymaker.com/AroundtheWorld/Australia/TMaustralia.html
Scroll down for the printable PDF to make a koala merry-go-round
cp.c-ij.com/en/contents/3157/koala/index.html
Print and put together this rather complicated paper model koala
www.marthastewart.com/good-things/seashell-koalas
Make some koala bears out of shells
Links checked October 2011
Make Some Cute Koala Greeting Cards
Click on the pictures for more info or to buy these printable koala cards
What do you want to learn about koalas?
Koalas on TV
Koalas on TV
Koala bears are such sweet-looking creatures, it is not surprising that they have become the heroes of their own TV shows. Adventures of the Little Koala
Koala facts #9
Japan's love affair with the koala began in 1984 when a zoo in Tokyo received its first koalas.
Blinky Bill
A naughty little koala boy
Blinky Bill DVD from Amazon
The Koala Brothers
Koala Quiz
How much do you know about koalas?
Okay. Let's see how much you know about koalas with these 10 questions. You will find all the answers to the questions on this page.
Find out about more Australian animals
What do you want to learn about koalas?
Any thoughts?
Would you like to see anything added here? Did you learn something new?
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TravelingRae
Feb 14, 2012 @ 4:19 pm | delete
- I want to be reborn as a koala: you get to spend your whole life sleeping and eating junk food! :) Thank you for such an interesting and informative lens. :::blessed:::
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thrivingmom
Feb 14, 2012 @ 8:28 am | delete
- I really enjoyed this lens. I've always though Koalas are super neat. This lens has inspired me to write a lens about my favorite animal. I'll definitely be adding this lens in the discovery tool when I'm done.
~*blessed*~
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girlfriendfactory
Feb 14, 2012 @ 3:05 am | delete
- This awesome lens, filled with great facts, is more than worthy of a Flyby Winging and it can be found among the other blessed lenses for today at Have Wings Will Bless! They may call me an aimless wanderer, but not all who wander are aimless and I'm glad my aim was good when I wandered upon this. ~Ren
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Coopstar
Feb 14, 2012 @ 12:41 am | delete
- I have always thought Koala Bears were so cute but I really never knew much about them! Thanks for the great information!
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canoz
Feb 13, 2012 @ 9:18 pm | delete
- I loved your lens and it is so crammed full of great info and interesting stuff! I especially loved the clip of the koala grunting. We hear them at night out the back of our house and I'm always at a loss to explain to people what they sound like. I say they grunt like a pig but that hardly seems right either. Please take the word 'sorry' out from under the pic of your kids. It's one of the most delightful parts of the lens and us mum's shouldn't make apologies for bragging about how gorgeous our little ones are! Loved it all!! Thanks.
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lasertek
Feb 13, 2012 @ 9:10 pm | delete
- I recently watched an old Jackie Chan movie and a koala was in it. Koala's are really adorable.
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SophiaStar
Feb 13, 2012 @ 7:58 pm | delete
- What a wonderful lens. When we were younger my sister's favorite animal was the koala. They are so cute.
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hirephp
Feb 13, 2012 @ 4:42 pm | delete
- nice lens regarding kolas thanks for sharing
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nightbear
Feb 13, 2012 @ 4:12 pm | delete
- Absolutely delightful page. I enjoyed it thoroughly. Very interesting and complete. Really great. Blessed.
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VeggieGamer
Feb 13, 2012 @ 11:21 am | delete
- Koalas were my favorite animal when I was little. Very nice lens for a very cute animal!
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Koala References
Burton, Barbara The Koala Lansdowne Press
Ride, W.D.L. A Guide to the Native Mammals of Australia Oxford University Press
Morris, Edward Morris Austral English - A Dictionary of Australasia Words, Phrases and Usages published in 1898
www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2006/10/05/2041759.htm
www.environment.nsw.gov.au/animals/TheKoala.htm
www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-koala.html
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