Hi! I’m back with the latest update on my koala news. I’ll be writing about koalas for every issue of “On The Horizon”. I’ve managed to get a little more research done and got to know koalas a little bit better. Want to hear some more facts that I thought were pretty cool? Here are some……

Some more koala facts:

Koalas only live in Australia. I’ve been to Australia, but I wasn’t even one yet so I don’t really remember it. I’ve more recently been to New Zealand and I thought maybe they lived there, too. I also found out that koalas go back to pre-historic times!! Many people think that it is because they have no large predators that they have lasted so long. Koalas are arboreal, meaning that they live in trees pretty much full time. They do not live in groups and only a mother and baby share the same tree. Koalas usually sleep 18-20 hours a day!!!! When they get tired, they find a nice fork in their tree, cuddle up and fall asleep. Koalas are very picky eaters, and they eat about a pound of eucalyptus leaves each day. “Koalas would rather eat nothing at all than take leaves they don’t like” as one book quotes. The koala is known as the Australian teddy bear. Actually, during certain periods of time, the koala has been called a bangaroo, koolewong, narnagoon, buidelbeer, native bear, karbor, cullawine, colo, koala wombat, and New Holland sloth!!

Updates on Koala Kare:

There is a lot that’s new about Koala Kare!!! I’ve contacted this great organization called “Friends of the Koala” and one of the volunteers emailed me to tell me that she thought I had a great idea with “Koala Kare”, and that if I wanted to send her one of these stories that she would publish it on her website. I have sent her my first story and it is on her website. So if you would like to see it then you can go to: www.friendsofthekoala.org, and go to the “Kids for Koalas” section and click on where it says “Koala Kare.” I’m very excited! Next issue, I will be writing about the life cycle of a koala. It’s really interesting, so keep looking for “Koala Kare”! Bye!!

By Kayla, Age 10, Clayton California