Context: According to Australian Parliamentary report, Koalas could become extinct by 2050 unless the government immediately intervenes to protect them and their habitat.

About Koalas

• Koala is (Phascolarctos cinereus) an arboreal (lives in trees) marsupial.
• Marsupial: A marsupial is born in a very incomplete state. They are minute, hairless and with hind limbs only partially formed. Around 2/3rd of them live in Australia. The other third live mostly in South America.
• Instead of the placenta, the mother’s milk nourishes the young and allows it to grow and develop.
• Although the word ‘marsupial’ comes from the Latin word ‘marsupium’, which means ‘pouch’, not all marsupials have pouches.
• They are endemic to Australia.
• Due to the low nutrient levels of the Eucalyptus leaves they feed on, the koala can sleep up to 18 hours each day.
• IUCN status: Vulnerable
• Threats: Land clearing for agriculture, urban development, mining and forestry had been the biggest factor in the fragmentation and loss of habitat for the animals