Phylum:   Chordata
Class:   Mammalia
Family:  Phascolarctidae
Common Name: Koala
Latin Name:  Phascolarctos cinereus

   The koala is an arboreal folivore that eats a variety of mostly Eucalyptus species in Queensland.  Koalas in Queensland are generally smaller than their southern counterparts, with adult males weighing about 7.5 kg and females around 5 kg on average. Koalas are thought to live for around ten years in the wild, however we have plenty of examples of females living to over 12 years in the wild and longer in captivity. Females generally bear one young each year, usually becoming sexually active in their third year. The world's first known identical twin koalas were born at The University of Queensland in 1999.
Koalas have a specially adapted digestive tract that assists in breaking down their high fibre, low carbohydrate diet of toxic gum leaves.
Koalas are most at  threat  from land clearing, dog attacks and road trauma, although they also suffer from diseases, many associated with their predominant pathogen, Chlamydia.
To find out more about koala  breeding or  feeding you can visit other pages on this site. We also present information on their  rangingbehaviour and provide a list of publications on a range of koala research areas.
 
 

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