How are Koalas alive?

Koalas are pretty darn cute, but...they aren’t the brightest bulb on the continent. They will only eat eucalyptus leaves off the branch. On a plate, a koala won’t recognize their one and only food. Yet, somehow, koalas are still alive. And it's all thanks to some pretty clever adaptations.

Hosted by: Michael Aranda

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Sources:

Brains:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Maciej-Henneberg/publication/233726395_1998_koala_brain/links/09e4150acb6041e673000000/1998-koala-brain.pdf
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0944200620301045
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228885254_MR_imaging_of_brain_morphology_vascularisation_and_encephalization_in_the_koala
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166223613000180
https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=KqtlPZJ9y8EC&pg=PA234&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false

Food:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/251779177_A_review_of_feeding_and_diet_selection_in_koalas_Phascolarctos_Cinereus
https://research.monash.edu/en/publications/digestion-and-nutrition-in-the-koala-a-review
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00689622
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/07/koala-s-diet-would-kill-most-mammals-their-genome-reveals-how-they-survive
https://www.publish.csiro.au/WR/WR00111

Disease:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378113513001405#bib0205
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6472425/
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1751-0813.1987.tb06064.x?sid=nlm%3Apubmed
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0236758

Other:
https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/pages/a117ced5-9a94-4586-afdb-1f333618e1e3/files/31-ind.pdf

Images:
https://www.storyblocks.com/video/stock/koala-awake-on-a-tree-hg8hhasrejwqcq3n7
https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/lone-koala-hanging-on-the-branches-of-a-tree-gm172129804-2354773
https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/organic-dried-eucalyptus-leaves-text-space-gm1170675305-324031293
https://www.storyblocks.com/video/stock/brain-1007-a-human-brain-rotates-on-a-grid-background-loop-shrpmbxyrwj9ivo8e1
https://www.storyblocks.com/video/stock/koala-eating-eucalyptus-leaves-marsupial-native-to-australia-hkk62n30ej1wywyws
https://www.storyblocks.com/video/stock/koala-eating-eucalyptus-leaves-marsupial-native-to-australia-hkk62n30ej1wywyws
https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/koala-baby-gm1272019097-374424410
https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/close-of-a-koala-yawning-gm1089852816-292371790
https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/karri-forest-western-australia-gm180883608-27065633
https://www.storyblocks.com/video/stock/a-koala-mother-carries-her-infant-on-her-back-in-a-eucalyptus-tree-swn75ciliqcct5ji
https://www.storyblocks.com/video/stock/ws-cows-and-sheep-grazing-in-countryside--cornwall-england-uk-b810kchqeiwmvlx3a
https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/koala-gm499656300-80357259
https://www.storyblocks.com/video/stock/koala-native-australian-marsupial-sleeping-in-tree-r6nuexjy-j203n77a