Botanist Robert Brown was the first to write a detailed scientific description of the koala in 1803, based on a female specimen captured near present-day Mount Kembla in the Illawarra region of New South Wales. Austrian botanical illustrator Ferdinand Bauer drew the animal`s skull, throat, feet and legs. However, Brown`s work remained unpublished and largely unnoticed, as his field books and notes remained in his possession until his death, when they were bequeathed to the British Museum (Natural History) in London. They were not identified until 1994, while Bauer`s koala watercolors were not published until 1989. [2]: 16-28 British surgeon Everard Home included details about the koala, based on eyewitness accounts from William Paterson, who had befriended Brown and Bauer during their stay in New South Wales. [2]: 33–36 Home, who published his report in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society in 1808,[68] gave the animal the scientific name Didelphis coola. [2]: 36 The first koala living in Britain arrived in 1881, purchased by the Zoological Society of London. As reported by the company`s attorney, William Alexander Forbes, the animal suffered an accidental death when the heavy lid of a vanity fell on it and it could not break free. Large particles usually pass faster because they take longer to digest. [20]:48 While the koala`s hindgut is proportionally larger than that of other herbivores, only 10% of the animal`s energy comes from fermentation. This character also appeared as Bunyip Bluegum in Lindsay`s 1918 book, The Magic Pudding. [10]: 147 Perhaps the most famous fictional koala is Blinky Bill.

The character was created by Dorothy Wall in 1933, appeared in several books, and has been the subject of films, television series, merchandise, and a 1986 environmental song by John Williamson. [10]: 149–52 Australia`s first koala stamp was issued by the Commonwealth in 1930. [2]:164 A television advertising campaign for Australia`s national airline Qantas, which began in 1967 and ran for several decades, featured a live koala (voiced by Howard Morris) complaining that too many tourists were coming to Australia and concluding, “I hate Qantas.” [72] The series was considered one of the greatest commercials of all time. [73] Find out which words work together and create more natural English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app. Dharuk (Australian Aboriginal language of the Port Jackson area) Gula, Gulawan ̧ The koala`s gestation period lasts 33 to 35 days,[59] and a female gives birth to only one Joey (although twins occasionally appear). As with all marsupials, the young are born in the embryonic stage and weigh only 0.5 g (0.02 oz). However, they have relatively well-developed lips, front legs and shoulders, as well as functional respiratory, digestive and urinary systems. The Joey crawls into his mother`s pouch to continue the rest of his development. [20]:61 Unlike most other marsupials, the koala does not clean its pouch. [2]:181 The koala received its genus name Phascolarctos in 1816 from the French zoologist Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville,[9] who did not give it a specific name until further examination. In 1819, the German zoologist Georg August Goldfuss gave it the binomial Lipurus cinereus.

Since Phascolarctos was first published, it has prevailed as the official name of the genus according to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. [10]: 58-59 French naturalist Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest proposed the name Phascolarctos fuscus in 1820, suggesting that the brown versions were a different species from the gray versions. Other names suggested by European authors were Marodactylus cinereus by Goldfuss in 1820, P. flindersii by René Primevère Lesson in 1827, and P. Koala by John Edward Gray in 1827. [2]: 45 koalas are herbivores, and although most of their diet consists of eucalyptus leaves, they can be found in trees of other genera such as Acacia, Allocasuarina, Callitris, Leptospermum and Melaleuca. [10]: 73 Although foliage from over 600 species of eucalyptus is available, the koala shows a strong preference for about 30. [45] They tend to choose species that are high in protein and low in fiber and lignin. [17]:231 The most popular species are Eucalyptus microcorys, E. tereticornis and E. camaldulensis, which on average make up more than 20% of their diet. [46] You will also consume other species of the genus such as E.

ovata, E. punctata and E. viminialis. Despite its reputation as a picky eater, the koala is more generalist than other marsupial species, such as the Great Glider.[47] Since eucalyptus leaves have a high water content, the koala does not need to drink often; [10]: 74 The daily water exchange rate is between 71 and 91 ml/kg body weight. Although females can meet their water needs by eating leaves, larger males need extra water, which is found on the ground or in the hollows of trees. [17]: 231 While eating, a koala with hind legs and a front leg clings to a branch, while the other front leg catches the leaves. Small koalas can move near the end of a branch, but larger koalas stay near thicker bases. [10]: 96 koalas consume up to 400 grams (14 oz) of leaves per day, spread over four to six feeding sessions. [2]:187 Despite their adaptation to a low-energy lifestyle, they have lean fat stores and often need to feed themselves. [2]:189 Because of its distinctive appearance, the koala, along with kangaroos, are recognized around the world as symbols of Australia.