This is an essay describing koalas and there environment. I am using a repot type voice and am focusing on formatting.
Climbing through tall soft trees, eating eucalyptus leaves straight off the branches, having fun all by yourself and taking in all of the wind that blows by, you can barely feel the branches on top of your fur. The warm, sunny days are ideal for your lifestyle and the tree's. Your light, round body lets you wonder around the tree with ease and leisure. Taking naps for hours upon hours on end all through the daytime. This is just an average day for a normal koala. Since they just lie around and eat, koalas obtain one of the easiest lifestyles you could ask for.
Koalas have a soft, wool-like coat that has gray hair on top and white hair on the bottom. Their fur is mostly white below their necks and their ears have some white hairs on the tips. The koala resembles a bear, but it's actually a marsupial. Marsupials are a special kind of mammal which carries its young in a pouch. Koalas can live to be seventeen years old, though high death rates for males lower their life expectancy to between two and ten years. Most koalas are small, pudgy animals that normally weigh about 30 pounds and grow to be 2 feet tall. Overall, koalas are basically stuffed animals that breathe.
These plush creatures prefer to live in eucalyptus forests, coastal islands, and low woodlands. Countries that koalas can be found in include Australia or New Zealand. Koalas consume eucalyptus leaves and bark from several different eucalyptus tree species. Being nocturnal mammals, koalas sleep for up to 16 hours a day. Also, they are arboreal, which means that they live in trees. Lastly, they do not live in large packs or groups but rather prefer to live alone.
Conserving koalas is becoming more and more important. Once numbering in the millions, koalas suffered major declines in population during the 1920's when they were hunted for their fur. Today, habitat destruction, attacks by dogs, and natural disasters kill an estimated 4,000 koalas yearly. Laws in Australia protect koalas, but each city is responsible for the animal's conservation. Right now, there are fewer than 100,000 koalas in the entire world.
Destroying koalas and their homes can leave harmful impacts on our planet. Taking away koala’s homes don’t just endanger koalas, but it would also endanger the 600 other species that live there. Another reason is that killing and hunting koalas could effect one of the rarest habitats in the world, eucalyptus forests. Which might lead to other problems such as holes in the ozone and lack of fresh air. None of this would happen if everyone stopped hunting and started protecting the harmless and peaceful koalas.
Sources:
- "Koalas: Photos, Video, Facts, E-card, Map -- National Geographic Kids." Kids' Games, Animals, Photos, Stories, and More -- National Geographic Kids. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2011. <http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/animals/creaturefeature/koala/>.
- weeks, 13, and the young has attained a body weight of about 50 g. "Koala Information." koalas .org. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2011. <http://koalas.org/koala-info.html>.
