MEET THE FAMILY KOALAS of Werrikimbe National Park Some of the nearly 50 wildlife preserves and national parks comprising comprising the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia are located in the state of New South Wales One park Werrikimbe covers more than 128 square miles 332 sq km of subtropical rainforest and rivers Flying foxes bowerbirds and colorful parrots fill the treetops Tree frogs and carpet pythons inhabit the park’s wetlands and woods A variety of Werrikimbe’s animals are found on no other continent It is mid-December early summer and a pleasant 70 F 21 1 C A female koala perched on a branch 20 feet 6 1 m above the forest floor munches the leaves of a snow gum tree Thirty-five days have passed since she mated The experienced mother hardly notices as she gives birth to a single offspring About the size of a jelly bean the baby joey still has a lot of growing to do
CLOSE-UP Eyes Koalas eyes have vertically slit pupils that allow koalas to see colors even in low light It also helps them spot movement off to the sides aiding in escape from predators
01 CHAPTER ONE life begins Koalas are a type of marsupial Unlike other mammals marsupials give birth to undeveloped babies called joeys After birth joeys firmly latch on to their mother’s nipples and drink milk while continuing to develop The mother’s nipples may be under a flap of skin or inside a pouch called a marsupium which holds the joeys Among marsupials only the females have a marsupium but South America’s short-tailed opossums lack this protective pouch altogether About 80 percent of the world’s marsupial species are found in Australia New Guinea and neighboring islands Koalas typically give birth to a single joey Twins are rare A new born koala is just 0 8 inch 2 cm long It has no fur and its hind legs WERRIKIMBE SOUTHERN KOALA MILESTONES DAY 1 Born pink skinned and hairless Crawls from birth canal to pouch Length 0 8 inch 2 cm 7
