Koalas endangered status
The species Phascolarctos cinereus, more commonly known as the koala, is a veryunique and unusual animal. Although it is commonly thought of as a bear, the koala is actually amarsupial, one of the three groups of mammals, and is more closely related to the bandicoot andthe American opossum than any species of bear (Smith and Harman, 1997). The koala is almostexclusively known to most people as the cute and furry animal residing throughout the continentof Australia. Although this is true for the most part, the koala is a much more intriguing animal. A turbulent journey from pre-history through today's struggle to coexist with human neighbors,very distinct mating rituals and reproductive habits, and most importantly, the destruction of theirvery precise habitat and the consequences this has for the existence of the koala species, are Before the history of koalas is discussed in depth, a physical description of the koala is inorder. Koalas, as mentioned before, are marsupials, the female having a pouch in which theiryoung develop. Their pouch faces the rear and has a drawstring type muscle that the mother
Some solutions these people have devised include shooting the koalaswhich is illegal, relocation, and sterilization. There are many groups in Australia devoted to the continuedexistence of the koala such as the Australian Koala Foundation (AKF). This once vast inhabitance and diversitysuggests that the marsupial class may be past its prime in evolutionary history. The lower metabolism alsoaccounts for the 18 hours a day that the average koala spends sleeping. Foreplay is elaborate and can be very rough and is usually initiated by thefemale holds onto her tree and begins a jerking motion while she flaps her ears. With assistance from organizations like AFK, the general public will eventuallycome to understand that the most effective method of controlling the koala population is throughthe indirect effect caused by the halting of deforestation and preservation of the eucalyptousforests that are the foundation of koala life. They also have a large, black nosethat is moist most of the time and seems to serve as a thermostat of sorts (Wright, 2000). Before the arrival of Europeans in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries,Australia was a very peaceful place with very little interspecies predation. Todaymarsupials numbers are quite diminished and the habitats are smaller than ever. This is all too evident with the rape andpillage of the species by European settlers in shortly after arrival. These furs were not used for high-fashion clothing but as a cheap and durable fur. ------------------------------------------------------------------------**Bibliography**ReferencesBuckingham, Scott.
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