📸 PhotoPhoto: Diliff · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Koala
Phascolarctos cinereus (Koala · コアラ)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 The 500 g of leaves it eats each day weighs the same as a 500 mL bottle of water, and the average southern male weight of 11.8 kg is slightly heavier than a 10 kg bag of rice (Comparison). Sleeping up to 18 hours a day is 3/4 of a day.
- 💡 In the early 20th century it was heavily hunted for its warm, thick fur, but it is now protected and cannot be hunted.
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
Site-computed relative index from recorded values; not a formal scientific metric.
📖 1. Overview
The Koala is an arboreal marsupial of Australia's eucalyptus forests that spends most of its time in tree branches. It is assessed as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Southern individuals are larger than northern ones, and males are larger with a chest gland. Females have a rear-opening pouch, and the tail is vestigial and almost absent.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It feeds on toxic eucalyptus leaves, which bacteria in its stomach detoxify. Out of about 350 eucalyptus species, it eats only 20 and strongly prefers 5, consuming about 500 g a day and sleeping up to 18 hours daily to save energy.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List VU (2020) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/16892/166496779
- • IUCN Red List category VU — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • mammaldiversity.org — 1000404
- • iucnredlist.org — 166496779
- • wikidata.org — Q36101
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Koala climbing tree.jpg
- • animaldiversity.org — Phascolarctos cinereus
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Gavin Prideaux · CC0 1.0
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.