A LL A BOUT K OALAS B Y Y EBON K WAK COVER PICTURE HAND DRAWN BY YEBON KWAK

Transcription

1 A LL A BOUT K OALAS B Y Y EBON K WAK COVER PICTURE HAND DRAWN BY YEBON KWAK

2 T ABLE O F C ONTENTS INTRODUCTION BABIES AND REPRODUCTION LIFE AS A KOALA THE KOALAS BODY PREDATORS HUMANS TO KOALAS QUIZ BIBLIOGRAPHY

3 Introduction This book will introduce you to the cute friendly Koalas of Australia. You can learn how they reproduce, to their life, body and the dangerous predators that surround these fluffy animals. Read more to learn more! Babies & Reproduction Mate The male side of the pair bites the female koala s neck. That is the sign of mating. The mark will fades away later. When the mother and father koalas meet, they communicate by their scents and calls. Birth Mating is a process needed to generate babies and reproduce. Koalas produce a baby around every 2-3 years. They have a small chance to have twins. They scarcely have triplets or more. The baby koala that was produces, is called a joey. Time The koalas mating December- March. When of their energy out so if enough energy, they try to mate when they are season is around they mate, it takes a lot they don t have avoid mating. They around 2-3 years old. Joey The baby koala is called a Joey. It grows inside the mother s stomach for 35 days until it is born. After it is born, it has 5 minutes for it to make its way across the stomach and to the pouch. If the baby koala did not successfully make it across, the joey has lost its short life. In the pouch, the joey grows its ears and fur. When the baby is born, it is blind, hairless, earless and the body is no bigger than a jelly bean.

4 Life as a Koala Area Koalas live in the east part of Australia. They live in grassy areas filled with trees. Not just any kind of tree, They depend on eucalyptus trees. The eucalyptus tree is their source food and sleep. Just like of Eating Koalas main source of ood is the eucalyptus tree. They eat the leaves, flower and the bark of the tree. It is rare if you find a koala eating other plants or food, but if they are, they will eat other tree leaves. The eucalyptus tree and leaves are poisonous, but not to koalas. They have a different digestive system and can remove the poison easily. Babies Food The baby koala eats pap form their mother. Pap is a predigested eucalyptus leaves that the joey (baby koala) can eat. They will eat from the age of 7 months and they will eat pap until they are old enough to eat their own food and are old enough to digest their own food. They are old enough to digest when they are around 9 months old. Drinking The koala does not have to drink much. The name koala translates to No drink in the language of Australian Aborigines, the country s native people. When the koala gets a quick drink, it will leap from tree to tree if they are close enough. If not, the koala will get down from its tree and crawl to a tree. Sleeping The koala sleeps around 20 hours a day. It will sleep on an eucalyptus tree. Koalas find nooks and crannies to sleep on. They are little fuzzy balls on a tree when they sleep. The koala is a sleepy head, but isn t so lazy that it will spend the whole 24 hours sleeping. In the left over time, it will eat and maybe even drink.

5 Koalas Body The koala has sharp claws to help them climb trees. They amazing sense in smell they smell their mate, with their long oval noses and can hear very well with their fuzzy little ears. They munch on leaves with their mouths. They use both paws to climb trees.

6 Predators & Other Dangers Animal Predators There are many predators to koalas above and below. The table below will show you some of the dangerous predators. Name of Predator Attack Koala s Defence Dog Dogs kill more koalas than any other animal. The dog is a big threat to koalas and have killed more than 4,000 koalas a year! Dogs are cute and friendly animals or pets. To koalas, they are a number one predator. NONE Green Python Green pythons kill koalas both on ground and on trees. The python swallows the koala whole. It wraps the prey around with its long scaly body. Then, squeezes it and then A koala has lost its life. try to avoid by moving tree or quickly try to escape. If the koala is not successful, it has become a meal for a green snake on a tree. Dingo The dingoes will attack the koalas and will have them for dinner or lunch. Dingoes go around in little gangs for a quick hunt. Fight back. If not successful, the koala will swim away. The dingoes are not swimmers. Owls and hunt koalas during the night. The koala sleeps 20 hours a day, so the owl has a higher chance to successfully catch a koala while they are taking a lovely nap in the trees. NONE Owls

7 Humans to Koalas Humans have been a threat killed loads of koalas during furred coat. Then, the official law that it was illegal at the year When we have to find a new one. another tree, they might be car. to koalas since Humans to make a koala government made it an to kill koalas, this happened cut down trees, koalas will While they crawl to reach greeted by a predator or a Habitat Problem Humans are cutting down too many trees that used to be a koala s house. The koala will have to find another tree to settle on. The koalas habitat is in danger. HELP THE KOALAS! Conclusion Turn the page for a Quiz to see how much you learned!

8 QUIZ How old are koalas when they mate? 2-3 years old 4-5 years old years old What part of Australia do koalas live in? North East South West What is the food that joeys eat called? Pop Pap Pat How many koalas are killed by dogs each year? 2,000 koalas 4,000 koalas 5,000 koalas Why did humans kill koalas around ? To make a carpet To make purses To make coats The name koala translates to No drink in the language of Austrian Allergens Australian Aborigines Native Americans

9 B IBLIOGRAPHY W EBSITES B OOKS Koalas by Steven Otfinoski Pocket Babies by Sneed B Collard About Marsupials by Cathryn Sill