Plush Koala & Koala Facts

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Even the toughest of human hearts melts just a little when they see a koala. A plush koala can have that same effect, making plush koalas one very popular stuffed animal.

It is believed that koalas or animals like koalas first evolved 45 million years ago when Australia began to drift northward away from its attachment to the Antarctic land mass. Fossil remains dating back 25 million years ago of koala-like animals have been found.

Koalas became dependent on gum (or eucalyptus) trees for food after Australia's climate started changing into a drier one, thus altering the vegetation. Despite aboriginals in Australia relying on koalas for food, the animals still remained in abundance until the first Europeans arrived in 1788. Over time, as the new colony moved forward, farmland was cleared resulting in much loss of the koalas precious habitat. Eventually, European settlers used the koalas fur for trading and consequently, up until 1930, millions of koalas died for their pelts. In South Australia and New South Whales, koalas were extinct by 1924. And, in Victoria, there remained only an estimated 500. By the late 1930's, there was such public outcry over the slaughter of koalas, that it forced the government in all states to declare the animal a protected species. Unfortunately, the same laws did not apply to the eucalyptus trees in which koalas depended on for both food and shelter.

Contrary to what many believe, koalas are not bears. They are marsupials which means their babies are born immature and further develop inside a pouch. They are mostly a nocturnal animal which means they are awake at night and asleep during the day sometimes as long as 20 hours. Some believe that koalas sleep so much due to a feeling of drunkenness from the gum leaves they feed on. In fact, they are required to sleep as long as they do as the leaves toxicity (along with low-nutrition) makes them very difficult to digest. As a result, koalas need to use a great deal of energy to digest the leaves and the best way to do that is by sleeping.

With more than 600 varieties of eucalyptus, koalas only eat a few of them. They are fussy about what they dine on and prefer different types of gum leaves. This is generally limited to one and only up to three kinds of leaves. Depending on where they live and their size, in a single night, koalas will consume up to two pounds of gum leaves. Because their bodies are only able to absorb about 25 per cent of the fiber they eat, they need to eat large quantities of leaves.

As there are so few places in the world to see koalas outside their native Australia, a plush koala (or two) will have to do. While it may not be quite the same as the real thing, a plush koala is lovely in its design and boasts extra soft plush fur all the more for imagining what it might be like to touch the real thing.

About the Author:
Angeline Hope is a collector of plush giant toy animals. You can view a selection of plush giant toys, including koala plush toys at MyBigPlush.



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


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