Koala: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Australia · day 1 of 7

Five facts

1. A koala can chew up to 400 g of eucalyptus leaves a day, spread over four to six feeding bouts.
2. Eucalyptus leaves are low in nutrients. A wild koala digests them slowly, keeping food in its gut for up to 100 hours.
3. Koalas spend most of life in trees, climbing down only 2-3 times a night, about ten minutes in total.
4. A newborn koala weighs no more than half a gram. It crawls into its mother's pouch and stays there for six to seven months.
5. After leaving the pouch, the joey rides on its mother's back. It is fully weaned at around one year old.

The quiz

1. How many grams of eucalyptus leaves can a koala chew in a day?

• Up to 40 g
• Up to 100 g
• Up to 400 g (correct)
• Up to 4 kg

It can chew up to 400 g each day.

2. How long can food stay in a wild koala's gut?

• 10 hours
• 100 hours (correct)
• 1,000 hours
• 3 hours

Digestion is slow: food can stay up to 100 hours in a wild koala's gut.

3. How much total time do koalas spend on the ground each night?

• About ten minutes (correct)
• About two hours
• About five hours
• None at all

They climb down 2-3 times, around ten minutes in total.

4. How much does a newborn koala weigh?

• About 50 g
• About 5 g
• No more than half a gram (correct)
• About 500 g

A newborn weighs no more than half a gram.

5. At about what age is a koala joey fully weaned?

• Two months
• Six months
• One year (correct)
• Five years

Joeys are fully weaned at around one year old.

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