Drunk Koalas?
Do Koalas really get drunk on Gum Leaves?
Kevvie says: Some people think so. They recon that the Eucalyptus Oil in the gum leaves make us sleep a lot because we get high on it. But it is just not true. But because the gum leaves take a lot to eat and digest, we need heaps of energy and that’s why we sleep a lot. Not because we are out of this world on Eucalyptus Oil. Sleeping means we save energy too. It’s a win-win situation.
I can eat a number of species of eucalypt plus the flowers, buds, stems and bark. Sometimes I could also eat Allocasuarinas, Corymbias and Melaleucas so my diet can be quite varied. But we are fussy. We sniff out the leaves before we choose which ones to eat. They we chew a real lot – because the leaves are tough – they have a lot of fibre. We eat a lot of them because they don’t give us much energy.
How many types of eucalypt leaves do we koalas eat? There are approximately 900 species of eucalypt in Australia – in each region we are known to feed on anywhere up to 100 different species. But where they are available we Koalas normally have around 10 species that are our main preferred food source. Here is a list of some of the gum trees we like. If you walk around the Koala Bushlands Walking Track at this spot, you can see which trees we like – they are named.
Eucalyptus punctata (Grey Gum)
Eucalyptus melliodora (Yellow Box)
Eucalyptus nicholii (Willow Peppermint)
Eucalyptus obliqua (Messmate)
Eucalyptus ovata (Swamp Gum)
You can tell which trees we live in if you look around the ground – you can see our poop. It looks like this:
So off to find a cache and a clue, and look out for my poo!
Next: My Family Life - GC9RPCP
This cache has been placed to conform with the guidelines/policy specified in the Brisbane City Council's policy publication: Outdoor Recreation Management Strategy for Brisbane's Natural Areas