Do you think Koalas are cute? That’s not even a question. With fuzzy hair, fluffy ears, and strange-looking nose, they look no less than a soft toy who wants to cuddle. These wired sleepy heads are one the cutest wild animals and are known for their slow speed and of course their surprising body adaptations. These little fuzzy animals are overloaded with interesting and weird facts too. Here a list of 7 wired facts about Koalas.
They Are Clumsy On The Ground
Koalas have sharp claws and rough pads, their hands, and feet are specially designed to grab branches and climb high or trees very easily. But on the ground, it’s not that easy. Because of their hand and feet design, they find it hard to walk and sometimes fall while doing so. Koalas only come on the ground when they have to change the tree they are sitting on.
Koalas Have Fingerprints
Koalas are included in the list of very few animals that have fingerprints. Isn’t this a nightmare for an investigator? Scientists think that Koalas fingerprints are a recent evolution in their body as most of their close relatives don’t have any. Koalas have fingerprints that are so much similar to humans that even microscope analysis cannot easily distinguish them. Definitely, they are cute criminals.
The Mystery Of Bellows
During the mating season, male Koalas attract females by making high and low-pitched wired sounds called bellows. Bellows usually reach the frequency of 27 Hertz which is a very much low sound for this small animal. It’s a kind of pitch that we expect to find in elephants, not in little koalas. Theories claim that Koalas make bellows with the help of special organs in their throat that no other mammal has evolved.
Firm Grip Even When They Sleep
Koala’s paws are specially designed for gripping and climbing the trees. They are even better than monkeys. Their bodies are lean with long muscular front and hind limbs. The unique structure of the paws allows this animal to maintain a firm grip on the trees. Even when they sleep, you cannot just pick them up. Their grip is so strong while sleeping too. So that they don’t fall or be snatched by any predator easily.
Koalas Eat Toxic Food
Most animals stay away from Eucalyptus trees because of their toxicity but Koalas depend entirely on Eucalyptus trees for food. Their digestive system is adapted in a way that they can digest them without any trouble. In fact, eucalyptus is their favorite food and they consume over 2 pounds of leaves in a single day. Wonder where this entire toxin goes?
All They Do Is Sleep
Koalas sleep up to 22 hours a day. Yes! That’s almost a whole day. The reason is their low nutrition diet and sluggish metabolism, they should conserve their energy. That’s also the reason for their very slow speed and movement. However, at night they slowly travel from one tree to another in search of food.
Koalas Have Upside Down Pouch
Koalas have pouches like kangaroos but they are upside down. The reason behind this is that they are close relatives of the wombats. Koala babies are born immature and develop in those pouches. The upside-down pouches help babies consume a substance their mother secretes which helps them build a strong digestive system to eat toxic leaves.
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