The Coolidge examiner., 1935-06-21
3 {. AR
Australian Bear. the KoaIa.

. Prepared by National Geographic Society.
Washington. u. C.-WNU Service.
Tt AN imaginative child could
be transported from a visit to
= an American toy shop to the
midst OF an Australian eucalyptus
forest. and there shown for the first
time the Australian native bear. or
Koala. climbing among the branches
and nlbbllng the leaves, he would
be hard to convince that the teddy
bears he had been inspecting had
not been brought magically to life ;
for the koala. with his round roly-
poly body. short arms and pointed
nose. IL the living prototype Of the
jolly toy bear that helps make
Christmas morning merry In many
an American nursery.
Koalas are found In eastern and
southeastern Australia, but do not
occur on any OF the neighboring is
/ lands or in the western half OF the
continent. They were probably
once the most common animals In
the Australian bush. but about 40
years ago widespread epidemic
overlook them and they died by
/ thousands
They also were hunted extensive
" for the sake OF their warm. thick
fur. and as a result are now ex-
tinct In New South Wales. A few
hundred are still 10 be found I'm
Victoria. In carefully protected To-
calitIes. and a fair number remain
In Queensland Little Is known OF
the nature Of the disease that so
nearly exterminated them. but
study Is being given the subject.
now. with view 10 preserving the
remains OF this formerly numerous
species.
The koala Is one OF the most In
teresting OF Australian animals. He
has n thick. graylsh-colored fur, a
prominent black nose. and stands
about two feet high. A good Pecl-
men weighs about 30 pounds. He
Is one OF the most inoffensive ami
mails imaginable. doing no harm or
damage 10 anyone or anything.
He Lives In Trees.
Essentially an arboreal and main
ly nocturnal animal. he spends his
time In the branches of certain
species OF eucalyptus trees, where
he feeds at night upon the tender
young leaves. II approached. he
will sit and stare at the intruder
with a surprised expression. and
only II danger threatens he win
climb to the topmost branches. He
is rather Inactive. especially in
summer. and often sits in the fork
OF a tree. sleeping the daylight
hours away. The adult males are
fond OF perching themselves on a
dead limb at the top OF tall tree,
from which they appear to enjoy
their survey Of the surrounding
landscape.
They have five toes on each foot,
and each toe is armed with q
curved, needle-sharp claw. The
toes are In groups Of twos and
threes. the two claws being In the
form OF a double thumb. They are
thus enabled to climb easily and
also to grasp the branches of
tree and pull them down for the
purpose of feeding on the leaves.
Even an iron telegraph post offers
no obstacle TO their climbing pow
ers. and they have been seen sit
ting among the wires on top OF
one. although It Is difficult to say
what motive took them into such a
position. A tall fagstaff seems to
present an irresistible temptation.
and even in the windiest Of days
they climb such posts to perch on
the top.
The leaves of certain kinds of
the Australian eucalyptus (gum
trees) form their staple diet. al
though occasionally they feed on
the barks Of certain trees and on
sphagnum moss, perhaps as tonic
or medicine. They never drink wa
ter In state Of nature, but are
apparently able to obtain enough
moisture from feeding on the juicy
gum shoots from which the COM
mercial eucalyptus oil is extracted.
Make Delightful Pets.
Koalas are such quaint and at
tractive little creatures that they
are much in demand as household
pets. They are very easily tanned,
but as they grow older they are
careless of the fact that their claws
have needle4ike sharpness, which
win easily penetrate the thickest