The Koala Essay -- essays research papers fc

The native bearInroduction     The koala is the Australian jewel. It has very furry, ash colored hair,a rubbery black nose, nifty claws, fuzzy ears, and a grizzly personality, orshould I say, koalality. If you kill a koala, youll make a million off theirfur They would sell the fur to cover companies and make coats out of koala fur.Well, sadly enough, too many people argon making millions on koalas. Thats whytheyre endangered species.Habitat     The koala is distributed on the eastern coastal semi-tropical forestsof Australia, ranging from north Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and asmall area in the south of Australia.Breeding     The male koala and the female koala have two very different mating calls.When humans tally their sexual maturity at around the age of 14 or 15, koalasreach their sexual maturity at the age of two. The female produces one babyevery other year. The koala almost never produces twins. In th e females pouch,there are two nipples. The female koala gives birth after a 20-35 day gestationperiod. When the joey (baby koala) is born, it is no longer than 2 cm andweighs no more than a 1/2 gram. The joey stays in its aims pouch for 5-7months. The term "joey is used when you are talking about a baby marsupial.The mother gives "pap to the joey, a liquid from the caecum (which is similarto the human organ, appendix.) This is thought to give the joey the ability to squander only eucalyptus leaves. When the joey emerges from the pouch, it clings toits mother for another seven months. The joey stays with its mother for anotherthree or four years, until it is fully grown.Diet     Koalas eat eucalyptus and dont drink water. I guess thats how theygot their name. In the aboriginal language, "koala" bureau "no drink water."But, the koala does drink water, only when it is ill. Out of the 350 species ofeucalyptus, the koala can only eat 20, will only eat 5, and only prefers to eata certain one.Population and Extinction     Since the koala population has dropped since 50% since the turn of thecentury, the Australian government passed a law banning anything harmful to thekoalas. At first, in the 1920s they were killed for their fur. Then, somehow,a high perce... ...e      New ColumbiaEncyclopdia, 1975 ed., p. 1491      (New York Columbia University Press)Bergh, John. Austrailian Koala Hospital Assosiation,      Inc. Koala Facts Sheet,     http//onthenet.com.au/jbergh/koala2.htm      (Sydney onthenet.com)Bergh, John. Austrailian Koala Hospital Assosiation,      Inc. Koala Facts Sheet,     http//onthenet.com.au/jbergh/koala4.htm      (Sydney onthenet.com)Bergh, John. Austrailian Koala Hospital Assosiation,      Inc. Koala Facts S heet,     http//onthenet.com.au/jbergh/koala1.htm      (Sydney onthenet.com)World Book Encyclopdia, 1996 ed., 11361 (Chicago      World Book, Inc.)Payne, Oliver. "Koala Out on a Limb," National Geographic Magazine, April,1995 (Washington, D.C. National Geographic Society Press)Academic American Encyclopdia, 1994 ed., 12103.      (Danbury Grolier, Inc.)