Hello everybody! For the last issue of On The Horizon, I thought I would put in a lot of different things. First of all, I have just found out that a blue-eyed koala has been born very recently. His name is Frankie. Blue-eyed koalas are very rare. Frankie is in a zoo in Australia. If you would like to visit the website to see a picture of him and learn more about Frankie, the website is: www.dreamworld.com.au. He will be on display for their “cuddle sessions” in the zoo portion of the park.

Now that it is the last issue for the school year, let’s test your knowledge on koalas. Take this quiz and see how well you do. (The answers are on the bottom of the page)

Koala Kwiz

#1: Koalas only live in Australia. True or False?

#2: About how many hours a day do koalas sleep?

#3: How much eucalyptus leaves can a koala eat in 1 day?

#4: Koalas will eat almost anything. True or False?

#5:How many teeth do koalas have?

#6: Eucalyptus leaves are poisonous to most other animals. True or False?

#7:Koalas are members of the bear family. True or False?

#8:Koalas are on the endangered list. True or False?

#9:Koalas barely drink because they get water from the eucalyptus leaves. True or False?

#10:What do koalas eat to get minerals that they need that the eucalyptus leaves do not provide?

How did you rank?

0-2 correct: Try reading some Koala Kare articles, then take the quiz again.

3-5 correct: You have good koala smarts!! Try reading up on some books about koalas and then you’ll be an expert. You would definitely rank as a Koala Karekeeper.

6-9 correct: Great work! You know your koalas well. Thanks for reading the Koala Kare articles. You certainly Kare about Koalas.

10 correct: WOW!! GREAT job!!!! You truly are a Friend of the Koalas.

Answers: #1=true. #2=18-20. #3= 1 pound. #4=false. #5=30. #6=true.#7=false.#8=false.#9=true.#10=soil.

Here are some interesting koala facts:

1. You now know that koalas do not usually drink because all the liquid they need comes from the eucalyptus leaves. Well the name, “koala” actually is a very old word for “no drink”.

2. The koalas scientific name is “phascolarctos cinereus” which translates to “Grey colored pouch bear”

3. Not only do cutting down eucalyptus trees threaten koalas, but forest fires also threaten them, because they are slow and cannot escape from the smoke and flames quickly enough.

4. Koalas are nocturnal.

Submitted by Kayla who regularly writes about koalas for her school newsletter.

Kayla is from California and is 10 years old.