Mammal images
from Australian-Wildlife.com
from Australian-Wildlife.com
Koala,
Phascolarctos Cinereus.
Koalas spend the first four months of their lives inside their mothers' pouch and will stay with the mother for about the first year. In their first months they feed off their mothers' scat so as to ingest the bacteria necessary for digesting tough gum leaves.
Koalas are often called koala bears. However, this is not correct, they are marsupials. The misconception comes from the latin name phascolarctos, meaning pouched bear. This goes back to 1816, before the taxonomy of this animal was fully understood.
This photograph was taken at the Australian Reptile Park in New South Wales.
Koalas spend the first four months of their lives inside their mothers' pouch and will stay with the mother for about the first year. In their first months they feed off their mothers' scat so as to ingest the bacteria necessary for digesting tough gum leaves.
Koalas are often called koala bears. However, this is not correct, they are marsupials. The misconception comes from the latin name phascolarctos, meaning pouched bear. This goes back to 1816, before the taxonomy of this animal was fully understood.
This photograph was taken at the Australian Reptile Park in New South Wales.
