One feature of the National Geographic Magazine I particularly enjoy is their articles about animals from time to time. Who doesn't love teddy bears! "Koalas are sloth-like creatures about two feet tall, tailless, and dressed in a coat of thick, grayish fur," ("The Koala, or Australian Teddy Bear," F. Lewis, September, 1931, photo caption, p. 347). "They were probably one of the most common animals in the Australian bush, but about forty years ago a widespread epidemic overtook them and they died by the thousands" (p. 346).
Similar to the panda bears of China, these fluffy fellows have a diet consisting of leaves from certain eucalyptus trees. With their clawed five-toed feet, they can climb nearly everything and especially love flagpoles.
Like Australia's kangaroos, koalas are marsupial animals; the young koala cubs (called 'Joeys') are carried in their mothers' pouches for six to ten months. "They are very easily tamed, and when captured as cubs speedily become attached to their owners and follow them about much as a puppy would" (photo caption, p. 352). The government of Victoria province in Australia forbade their capture in 1931.
"Koalas are, as a rule, silent, but when frightened or annoyed will cry very much like a child" (p. 355). In 1931, only the San Diego, California Zoo in America could provide the specialized diet of the koala bear. In 2014, there are eight United States zoos that keep koalas.
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