When a group of animals are alike, such as zebras and horses, we call them a species. If the group of animals is getting fewer and fewer alive in nature, that means this species is becoming endangered. If the group of animals continues to get fewer numbers, eventually this species will be extinct. That means this species is gone forever. The main reason for extinction is because the species doesn’t have enough basic needs of food, water and shelter. That is caused either by natural disasters, such as an asteroid crashing into Earth so dinosaurs went extinct or wildfire, or by harmful human activities, such as urban sprawl, global warming, or deforestation. Sometimes, it even could be caused by the species itself, like koalas.
Koalas are gray puffy fur animals. They live in tall eucalyptus trees, also called gum trees, in the southeast and eastern parts of Austria. In the food chain, dingoes, pythons, owls, and wedge-tailed eagles view koalas as prey, and koala’s main food resource is the leaves of the eucalyptus trees, or called gum trees. Typically, each koala could eat about 200 to 500 grams of leaves per day. Koalas should not have problems finding their food because there are over 600 different kinds of eucalyptus trees for them to choose. But Koalas are picky! Koalas only eat the leaves of about 120 kinds of eucalyptus trees. Some koalas in a specific area even only eat 4 to 5 kinds of eucalyptus leaves. If the koalas don't find the leaves they want, they would rather starve than eat other kinds. Researchers found that 70 percent of the koalas died because of starvation. Koalas are very stubborn!
Koalas are picky eaters and what they pick for eating is the leaves of eucalyptus trees. Why are they so picky about this food? The eucalyptus leaves have high water content. When koalas are eating eucalyptus leaves, they are actually meeting their water requirements to support their body. Surprisingly, eucalyptus leaves are poisonous to animals and humans but not to koalas. Koalas evolve the ability to get the toxins out of their body quickly, so they can eat many pounds of eucalyptus leaves each day without getting sick. Koalas are such picky eaters that they will not even eat species of eucalyptus leaves that are not their favorite ones. This preference is based on the fact that their stomach cannot handle it. In 2013, researchers studied koalas and they found out koalas just didn’t have the proper microbiome to digest different kinds of eucalyptus leaves.
Now koalas are facing a big problem of losing their home. Recently, eucalyptus trees in Australia are being cut down because of human’s urban sprawl. Humans build towns, houses, and highways by taking away the koala's habitat. This causes koalas to lose their tree homes, no tree leaves to feed them and provide water for them. Koalas have nowhere to go therefore they spend more time on the ground in search of food and shelter. Unluckily, koalas are very vulnerable to not only being hit by cars but also attacked by dogs. This results in the rapid decrease of the koala population. The Australian Koala Foundation estimates that currently there are just 50000 to 80000 koalas left. It gives a warning that koalas could be extinct by the number 2000. In early 2022, koalas are officially reported as endangered animals in Australia. What frightening news!
Koalas are cute, gray animals with puffy fur that could melt your heart. But koalas are picky-eaters. They only eat certain kinds of eucalyptus leaves among over 600 different kinds. Their stubbornness could make them killed. As a result, the koala population is decreasing. In addition, human’s urban sprawl, deforestation, or wildfire could cause the koala population to get fewer and fewer. Now koalas have officially become endangered animals. Everyone, from now on, should take some action to protect koalas. Governments can stop the approval for construction homes, bypasses, and highways in order to return the habitat to koalas. Scientists can investigate if there is any way to help the koalas eat other kinds of eucalyptus leaves. Adults can spread words about saving koalas through the computer, TV, newspaper, and magazines. The more people know, the more action could be made to protect koalas. Although kids, like me, are young and they don’t have money, they can still save koalas by planting eucalyptus trees.
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