The wildlife of Australia is very diverse and interesting. Australia is the only continent where the animals like platypus and echidna hadn’t disappeared and are still resisting. The Australian continent is also famous for these unique animals like kangaroos, which consist of 50 species, dingo, marsupial devil, ant - bear and so on. Nevertheless koala is also a very interesting part of Australian fauna.

Koala is a small animal with solid frame: its height is 60 – 82 cm and the weight is 5 – 16 kg. The tail is very short, it almost can’t be seen. The ears are round and covered with thick fur.

Koala’s fur is very soft, the color of it varies from light to dark gray, there are also species with red colored fur.

The frame and color of koalas depend on the places they found in. For example, koalas of Victoria state are a lot bigger and heavier, than species of Queensland. The animals there are smaller and their fur is short.

 The Koala is found all along the eastern coast of Australia from near Adelaide to the southern part of Cape York Peninsula. They live in eucalyptus forests, spending most of all their lifetime in the crowns of these trees. Koalas sleep in the daytime and in the night they actively climb trees searching for food. Even when koala isn’t sleeping, it can sit without any moves, clenching the branch of the tree with front paws. These animals don’t come down from the trees, but they do when they need to get to another tree which they can’t jump to. Also koalas can swim.

In the language of New South Wales tribes “koala” means “not to drink”. All the necessary water koalas get from the eucalyptus leaves and dew. They only drink water during long droughts and their illness.