Animal of January: the Koala

The cute and popular koala bear is known by many for its teddy bear-looking physical features. However, this mammal is not a bear it is a marsupial, a pouched animal. These marsupials live in eastern Australia in the eucalyptus forests. Koalas have sharp claws to help them climb trees, which is where they spend most of their time. Koalas rarely leave their beloved eucalyptus trees, and often doze off tucked high up in the trees. Koalas sleep for about 18 hours a day. Koalas eat about 2 ½ lbs of eucalyptus leaves a day. Koalas do not drink that much, they get most of the moisture from the eucalyptus leaves. Since the koala eats eucalyptus leaves, the koala is an herbivore.

Fast Facts

1. Herbivore

2. Range: Eastern Australia

3. Habitat: Eucalyptus forests

National Geographic Animal Facts

Tree Kangaroos

Tree kangaroos are marsupials that are endangered. They live in the high trees of 70 to 100 ft above the ground in the tropical forests. They are very hard to research, because you need a small plane to fly on bumpy grounds, and even then you can't find them because their so high up. Tree kangaroos tend to hide behind the leaves of trees. Dr. Lisa Dabek studied tree kangaroos for more than 20 years. She worked with National Geographic to help her research them. They used a whole entire teams of a range of verternariens to the local land owners, who used to hunt them, but now help Dr. Dabek research them.



Finally, they watched as a tree kangaroo jumped down on to the ground, and they captured it. A veterinarian put a camera around his neck and released him back to the wild. What they found was amazing, "It actually brought tears to my eyes," says Dr. Dabek. They could see what he did; clean him self, eat, and simply just sniff around, looking out at the amazing view from he high trees.

Animal of the Month: The Wombat!

The very fat and pudgy wombat roams the eucalyptus forests and grasslands of Australia. It is nocturnal, eating grasses, roots, and bark at night. It weighs from 30 to 80 pounds. Wombats have a very slow metabolism—it can take 14 days to digest one meal!
Wombats are fat with light brown fur and sharp claws to burrow in the dirt and the grassy fields.

When wombats burrow in fields, the field gets ruined. This can be very annoying to farmers, and wombats have even been killed for their behavior. They are also killed for their fur and simply just for sport. Some of their species, like the Northern Hairy-Nosed wombats, are critically endangered, while some are getting to the point of being endangered.





The Fast Facts-
1. Herbivores, eating grasses, roots, and bark
2. Range: Australia
3. Habitat: Eucalyptus forests and grasslands
4. Weigh 30 to 80lbs

Random Fact of the Day

Kangaroos like eating in the evening when it's cooler as opposed to the afternoon or in the morning.

Animal of the Month: The Platypus

The Platypus is a very odd animal. It is venomous and sort of a mix between a beaver, a duck, and an otter. It has otter-like feet, a duck-like bill, and a beaver-like tail. Male platypuses have a pouch on their foot that can shoot venom, which is very painful to humans.

Platypuses are responsible for the belief in mermaids.(1) Sailors saw these strange creatures, thinking they were half fish, half women. With the weird animals, and the possibility of drunk sailors, the belief of the mermaid is now throughout the world.

The Facts:
The platypus weighs about 3 lbs, and lives off the coasts of Tasmania and Australia. Their lifespan is generally 12 years.



Resources (MLA citations)
National Geographic. “Platypus” National Geographic Society 2009. 6 Dec 2009
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/platypus.html

(1) Animal Planet. “Platypus” Animal Planet 2009. 6 Dec 2009 http://animal.discovery.com/mammals/platypus/