Koala

25x25cm pencil on Bristol Paper

The koala is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial found in coastal areas of mainland Australia’s eastern and southern regions. The koala has a body length of 60–85 cm (24–33 in) and weighs 4–15 kg (9–33 lb). Its colour ranges from silver grey to chocolate brown. Koalas typically inhabit open eucalypt woodlands, and the leaves of these trees make up most of their diet. However, they can be quite picky eaters, eating less than 50 of over 700 eucalypt species. Koalas can eat up to a kilogram of leaves a day! Eucalyptus is poisonous to most animals, but Koalas have a special fibre digesting organ, called a caecum, which helps to detoxify the chemicals in the leaves. Because this eucalypt diet has limited nutritional and caloric content, koalas are largely sedentary and sleep up to 20 hours a day. They are asocial animals, and bonding exists only between mothers and dependent offspring. The koala joey is in the pouch til approximately 36 weeks. After this time, they’ll ride on their mum’s back for another six months, only using the pouch to feed and sleep. Life span of a Koala is 13-18 years.