Koala (mother & baby)

Mother & baby rest in the fork of a Grey Gum bathed in the afternoon sun of winter. Australia's iconic species, the Koala is a tree climbing marsupial closely related to the wombat another Australian specialty. Adults can grow to more than 80cm in length, this female is quite small at about 60cm. Babies (joeys) are born as tiny hairless underdeveloped creatures that crawl upwards into the mother's pouch where they remain until fully furred and able to cling to the mother securely (this baby is at that stage). Babies suckle milk from the mother and eventually become independent at around 12 months of age. Adult Koalas exclusively eat only the leaves of a wide variety of eucalypt tree species, although they have been observed eating leaves of other trees. They do drink water in extreme dry weather.