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Show X . - . Mil III 1 ''1 Ill I .. .; ' A; J tt.r ... i US BEAR tlj Australian Bear, the Koala. Prepared by National Geographic Society. Washington, D. C WXD Service. IF AN imaginative child could be transported from a visit to an American toy shop to the midst of an Australian eucalyptus forest, and there shown for the first time the Australian native bear, or Koala, climbing among the branches and nibbling the leaves, he would be hard to convince that the teddy bears he had been inspecting had not been brought magically to life; for the Koala, with his round roly-poly roly-poly body, short arms and pointed nose, is the living prototype of the jolly toy bear that helps make Christmas morning merry in many an American nursery. r Koalas are found in eastern and southeastern Australia, but do not occur on any of the neighboring islands is-lands or in the western half of the continent. They were probably once the most common animals in the Australian bush, but about 40 years ago a widespread epidemic overtook them and they died by thousands; They also were hunted extensively extensive-ly for the sake of their warm, thick fur, and as a result are now extinct ex-tinct in New South Wales. A few hundred are still to be found in Victoria, In carefully protected localities, lo-calities, and a fair number remain . in Queensland. Little is known of the nature of the disease that so nearly exterminated them, but study is being given the subject, now, with a view to preserving the remains of this formerly numerous species. The koala is one of the most Interesting In-teresting of Australian animals. He has a thick, grayish-colored fur, a prominent black nose, and stands about two feet high. A good specimen speci-men weighs about 30 pounds. He Is one of the most inoffensive animals ani-mals imaginable, doing no harm or damage to anyone or anything. He Lives In Trees. Essentially an arboreal and mainly main-ly nocturnal animal, he spends his time In the branches of certain species of eucalyptus trees, where he feeds at night upon the tender young leaves. If approached, he will sit and stare at the intruder with a surprised expression, and only if danger threatens he will climb to the topmost branches. He Is rather inactive, especially in Bummer, and often sits in the fork of a tree, sleeping the daylight hours away. The adult males are fond of perching themselves on a dead limb at the top of a tall tree, from which they appear to enjoy their survey of the surrounding landscape. They have five toes on each font, and each toe is armed with a curved, needle-sharp claw. The toes are in groups of twos and threes, the two claws being In the form of a double thumb. They are thus enabled to climb easily and also to grasp the branches of a tree and pull them down for the purpose of feeding on the leaves. Even an iron telegraph post offers - no obstacle to their climbing powers, pow-ers, and they have been seen sitting sit-ting among the wires on top of one. although it is difficult to say what motive took them Into such a position. A tall flagstaff seems to present an Irresistible temptation, and even in the windiest of days they climb such posts to perch on the top. ) The leaves of certain kinds of " the Australian eucalyptus (gum trees) form their staple diet, although al-though occasionally they feed on the barks of certain trees and on sphagnum moss, perhaps as a tonic or medicine. They never drink water wa-ter In a state of nature, but are apparently able to obtain enough moisture from feeding on the juicy gum shoots from which the commercial com-mercial eucalyptus oil Is extracted. Make Delightful Pets. Koalas are such quaint and at-,, at-,, tractive little creatures that they are much in demand as household prts. They are very easily tamed, hut as they grow older they are careless of he fact that their claws have needle-like sharpness, which will easily penetrate the thickest and strongest cloth. Although when living in the bush they . take no liquid, in captivity they quickly acquire a taste foi weak sweetened tea and starchy foods. This depravity is the cause of their undoing, for if given such things in mistaken kindness they soon begin to lose condition and in a few months die from indigestion. Even when fed only on eucalyptus leaves, they are difficult to keep alive in captivity. Because of their unique interest and the difficulty of keeping them alive in confinement, and because of their now decreased numbers, the Victorian government strictly forbids their capture. But, in order or-der that they may be seen under normal conditions, they are gradually gradu-ally being established in suitable places where there is an abundance and variety of their natural foods. It Is now possible, within a two-hour two-hour run of Melbourne, with its more than a million inhabitants, to see the Koala In his native gum trees, and it is hoped, through the exercise of strict protective measures, meas-ures, to preserve this Interesting little animal for posterity. "Joey" Reared in Pouch. The Koala is a marsupial, having hav-ing a pouch In which the single cub "Joey," In the language of the bush after birth in a very Immature Imma-ture state, is sheltered and fed for some months. When about six Inches in length, it gradually leaves the pouch and spends its time in its mother's arms, not clasped by the mother, because she needs all her toes for hanging onto the trees, but clinging to her thick fur by means of its own sharp little claws. This Is the usual position of the young until it Is big enough to look after itself; but If danger threatens, necessitating active climbing on the part of the mother, the youngster quickly clambers around upon her back, so as not to hamper her movements. There It hangs on securely while she climbs to safety. Koalas are, as a rule, silent, but when frightened or annoyed will cry very much like a child. In some of their habits they closely resemble human beings. A mother bear has been seen to cuff her little one, probably for some transgression of bush law, until it cried as If brokenhearted. broken-hearted. Contrary to what one might think, the bears are very unsociable among themselves. It Is extremely rare to And more than one In a tree, unless it be a very large tree. Even where they are fairly abundant abun-dant they seem to prefer a solitary life. A few years ago a number were placed on an island for their better bet-ter protection, and when visited later had scattered over the whole extent of the place, none being closer than 200 or SOO yards to another. |
