Koalas actually sleep 20-22 hours per day. Eucalyptus leaves are very low in calories and take a lot of energy to digest. I often have to work hard to wake them for photos :) thank you for the many thoughtful comments on my photos
@vignouse correct - no natural predators, yet they are facing extinction due to loss of habitat.
once upon a time there were many millions of koalas and old growth eucalypt forests with huge trees. these koalas would live in the very highest tree tops and were the shepherds of the forests
white man came along and discovered what amazing fur coats they have and shot them in their millions until it was finally banned in 1927 but by then only tens of thousands were left and the logging of their habitat continued.
today we don't know how many are left - somewhere between 40,000 and 80,000 is the best guess and just in my area alone we are picking up around 500 a year diseased or injured and successfully releasing around 15% (one big issue is that to catch a koala they are usually extremely ill or injured and so often are beyond help already)
so when I see what has happened on my property in only a few short years of regenerating habitat it is astounding to realise that these resilient animals only need habitat, but that is what they are losing. 80% of their habitat is now gone, and while we fight for them, their fate is probably sealed and within the next 30 years or so they will be gone from the wild.
I believe private landowners have the most power to turn things around and provide habitat as our government sees them as an annoying thing in the way of money making progress :(
@koalagardens Thank you for taking the time to explain about these wonderful creatures. It's a sad story so we are lucky to have folk like you who care enough to make a difference. May God bless your work.
I knew they slept a lot but didn't realise it was that long! But I guess its important to conserve energy when it takes so long to digest all that eucalyptus
once upon a time there were many millions of koalas and old growth eucalypt forests with huge trees. these koalas would live in the very highest tree tops and were the shepherds of the forests
white man came along and discovered what amazing fur coats they have and shot them in their millions until it was finally banned in 1927 but by then only tens of thousands were left and the logging of their habitat continued.
today we don't know how many are left - somewhere between 40,000 and 80,000 is the best guess and just in my area alone we are picking up around 500 a year diseased or injured and successfully releasing around 15% (one big issue is that to catch a koala they are usually extremely ill or injured and so often are beyond help already)
so when I see what has happened on my property in only a few short years of regenerating habitat it is astounding to realise that these resilient animals only need habitat, but that is what they are losing. 80% of their habitat is now gone, and while we fight for them, their fate is probably sealed and within the next 30 years or so they will be gone from the wild.
I believe private landowners have the most power to turn things around and provide habitat as our government sees them as an annoying thing in the way of money making progress :(