| Endangered Species: Koala |
Christansburg Elementary School
Submitted by: Love Bead, Grade Fifth
Chirstansburg, Virginia, USA
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Why Study This Topic
I want to find out the koala's natural habitat, what it does for a living,
and how it nurses it's young. I want to find out what Koala
mean's, where it lives in Australia, do theym always stay in tree tops?
Does it make nests or dens in the tree. What kind of calls do they make,
and what does it sound like? Are they nocturnal?, do they have
a good sense of smell or sight? How do they use their paws to climb up
a tree. How many eucalyptus leaves do they eat a day? How many years
do they live, and how many years have they been around? I'd like to keep
the Koala around because people in the future will like to seee the
fury mammal also. The Koala is very interesting. It's probably a
sight to see. The Koala's lifestyle is very neat. It has a mysterious
backgound behind it. I don't think anybody should take that away
from the Koala. This ends my report on the Koala.
What
was Already Known
Before I researched this animal, I knew it was a mammal. I'd
known that the Koala was nocturnal, almost always stay in trees, and is
endangered. I knew it lived in Australia, and I knew that it only comes
down during mating season. I had already known that it eats eucalyptus
leaves, but not how many. I also knew that when Koala's are born, they
in their mother's pouch. When their old enough they'll stick to their
mother's back. That makes them marsupial's. I also knew that the
Koala has an extra cheeck, so it can hold more food and feed it's young.
I also knew it's mating season was December and March. Koala's also make
a very unattractive call. much like a schreeching noise, and that what
I know about the Koala so far.
Search for Information
I searched for my animal
at TecnoZoo, the Birmingham Zoo and many more sites on the Internet. I
also searched in our school library. The books I checked
out had great infomation. I'm continuing my search in many more places,
but for now that's where I searched.
Description of Plant or Animal
My endangered animal is the Koala. Females weigh
from 7 to 9.5 kilograms. Males weigh from 9.5 12.5 kilograms. The
Koala feeds on one to two pounds of eucalyptus leaves a day. The
Koala is endangered because of pouchers who kill it for their silver,
durable fur. The Koala is a small animal that only comes down from its
tree during mating season. That's all so far about the Koala.
Habitat Requirements
The Koala eats eucalyptus
leaves. It can eat up to one to two pounds of these leaves. Here's another
mysterious thing about the Koala; the Koala dosen't drink water, because
the eucalyptus leaves gives it enough water. The Koala's shelter is the
eucalyptus tree. The trees give them their shelter from their leaves and
branches. The Koala lives in the zoo; therefore, the Koala wounld need
the right amount of space, about a large cage fit for an animal in the
prairie. They would need the space, so they could wonder around in the
trees.
Adaptations
The Koala has no animal predators, but the it does
have one predator. This predator is man. Man kills the
Koala for its durible fur. That's why the Koala is endangered. The
Koala may camouflage itself in the trees, because it blends with the bark.
The Koala also has soft-gray fur, small-gray ears and a round-body shape.
The Koala is a marsupial. Its habitat is the eucalyptus wooodlands of Australia.
The Kaola's lifespan is 12 to 14 years in the wild.
Reasons for Endangerment
The Koala is endangered because of poachers. Poachers
kill the Koala for its silver durible fur. Then poachers ship
the furs back to their country and make hats and coats out of them.
This predation in the eucalyptus woodlands of Australia got worse
each day, until the government stopped it. That's why the Koala is
endangered. The Koala's numbers are increasing over the years. That's because
the Koalas are in Australian zoos. This is better, because when younger
people go to Australia they'll see this small, gray, little animal.
Restoration Actions
The actions taken by people for the Koala.
They are being put in zoos so people can see them in the future life. Before
the Koala's were put in zoos, they were hunted for their durible fur, years
later people started to notice and put it in a zoo.
Some ideas for the future action include
keeping this fury marsupial alive so many people can see this animal
when they go to visit Austraila. The government had also put
in effect a law against hunting them. Now the Koala will be safe from poachers.
What Was Learned
I have learned that people have mistaken the Koala for a wombat
and a wombat for a Koala. In my studies, I have also learned about
the Koala's mating season, that it has no prey, its diet almost always
contains eucalyptus leaves, that its lifespan is 12 to 14 years in the
wild, and that the name Koala means "no drink". Koala means "no drink",
because the eucalyptus leaves it eats gives it all the water it needs.
The Koala's numbers are increasing. In the wild of Australia the Koala
survives with no prey. It stays in the trees until night fall, and then
it comes out to do its wildlife thing.
Conclusions from Research
Over the length of my research on the Koala,
I now am more aware that the Koala is endangered. I now know why
and understand what it was like for this marsupial. Also because
of my research on the Koala, my research skills have gotten better. I can
now search the web without any trouble, and I learned lots of interesting
things. For example, did you know most humans on the
Australian continent have a great responsiblility for the Koala ,
and just because of them the Koala's numbers have been increasing
over the years.
Bibliography
http://www.nature.ca/notebooks/english/koala.htm
http://www.sprint.com/epatrol/auskol.html
http://www.seaworld.org/animal_bytes/koalaab.html
http://www.dreamworld.com.au/koalanursery.html
http://www.dreamworld.com.au/koala.html
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Christiansburg Elementary |
Last updated on February 3, 2000
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