Cuddling Koalas

Well every birthday boy is entitled to a wish. My hubby's was cuddling a Koala. So off we went to the wildlife park and did exactly that but also spent a long time watching these docile, cuddly creatures and returning on several occasions as they sleep about 20 hours in every 24 hr period. We were lucky enough to watch them at their sleepiest and at their most wakeful. They are a threatened species as they have lost most of their natural habitat as more and more land gets cleared. They live in coastal regions,  islands and in woodlands - essentially where they can find certain eucalyptus trees which form their food source. 

They are not bears as they are sometimes mistakenly called, but marsupials and they produce small blind joeys who find their way to their mums pouch where they suck on her teats for about 6-7 months before venturing out. The eat a kilo of gum leaves a day which must be pretty tasteless and hard to digest so perhaps that explains why they are so sleepy trying to digest this unpalatable food. 

They love their gum trees and return to the same ones. Very much creatures of comfort and habit. Sadly they do also carry chlamydia which affects them if they are stressed or unable to find food. They are protected but their biggest threat is loss of habitat. Unbelievably cuddly and cute with great balance. Not sure I could stay in the fork of a tree fast asleep like they do !