Koala Bear Skull Replica or Koala Male measures 6 inches. Koala Male Skull Replica is museum quality polyurethane cast. 2-part skull (separate cranium and jaw). Made in USA. Cast of an original California Academy of Sciences specimen.
The Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus), sometimes called Koala Bear, is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia.
It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the wombats.
The Koala or Koala Bear is found in coastal areas of the mainland’s eastern and southern regions, inhabiting Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia.
It is easily recognisable by its stout, tailless body and large head with round, fluffy ears and large, spoon-shaped nose. The koala has a body length of 24 to 33 in. and weighs 9–33 lb. Their fur color ranges from silver grey to chocolate brown.
Koalas from the northern populations are typically smaller and lighter in colour than their counterparts further south. These populations possibly are separate subspecies, but this is disputed.
The Koala Bear or Koalas typically inhabit open Eucalyptus woodland, as the leaves of these trees make up most of their diet. This eucalypt diet has low nutritional and caloric content and contains toxic compounds that deter most other mammals from feeding on it.
Koalas are largely sedentary and sleep up to twenty hours a day. They are asocial animals, and bonding exists only between mothers and dependent offspring.
Adult Koala Bear males communicate with loud bellows that intimidate rivals and attract mates. Males mark their presence with secretions from scent glands located on their chests.
Being marsupials, Koalas give birth to underdeveloped young that crawl into their mothers’ pouches, where they stay for the first six to seven months of their lives. These young koalas, known as joeys, are fully weaned around a year old.
Koalas have few natural predators and parasites, but are threatened by various pathogens, such as Chlamydiaceae bacteria and Koala retrovirus.
Because of their distinctive appearance, Koalas, along with kangaroos, are recognised worldwide as symbols of Australia. They were hunted by Indigenous Australians and depicted in myths and cave art for millennia.
The Koala Bear or Koalas are listed as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Among the many threats to their existence are habitat destruction caused by agriculture, urbanisation, droughts, and associated bushfires, some related to climate change.
In February 2022, the Koala was officially listed as endangered in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, and Queensland.
