Introduction to koalas and the reasons that their numbers have been declining.

Rev. ed. of: The koala / Anthony Lee and Roger Martin. 1988.

Describes the rescue and rehabilitation of a baby koala.

The koala is both an Australian icon and an animal that has attained flagship status around the world. Yet its history tells a different story. While the koala figured prominently in Aboriginal Dreaming and Creation stories, its presence was not recorded in Australia until 15 years after white settlement. Then it would figure as a scientific oddity, despatched to museums in Britain and Europe, a native animal driven increasingly from its habitat by tree felling and human settlement, and a subject of relentless hunting by trappers for its valuable fur. It was not until the late 1920s that slowly emerging protective legislation and the enterprise of private protectors came to its aid. This book surveys the koalas fascinating history, its evolutionary survival in Australia for over 30 million years, its strikingly adaptive physiognomy, its private life, and the strong cultural impact it has had through its rich fertilisation of Australian literature. The work also focuses on the complex problems of Australias national wildlife and conservation policies and the challenges surrounding the environmental, economic and social questions concerning koala management. Koala embraces the story of this famous marsupial in an engaging historical narrative, extensively illustrated from widely sourced pictorial material.

Take a tour of a hospital dedicated to caring for sick and injured koalas.

Introduces this unique animal, its evolution, physical characteristics, distribution, life cycle and socialization, as well as how people have interacted with the koala since its discovery, the severe threats from human influence that it still faces and what people are doing to save it and its habitat.

Koalas have climbed and munched their ways into kids' hearts. With this book, readers can become koala experts and learn how to save the animals they love. Featuring an introduction from Chelsea Clinton! Did you know that koalas spend most of their lives up in the treetops, only coming down if they run out of leaves to munch on? How about that koalas eat almost every minute that they're awake? Or that these cute and cuddly looking animals can give off earsplitting roars that can be heard half a mile away? Perfect for all animal lovers—and koala fans in particular—this book is filled with all the facts you need to know to become a koala expert! Where are koalas found? What's it like to be a koala? Why are koalas endangered, and who has been working hard to save them? Read this book and find out how you can help save the koalas! Complete with black-and-white photographs, a list of fun koala facts, and things that kids can do right this very moment to help save koalas from extinction, this book, with an introduction by animal advocate Chelsea Clinton, is a must for every family, school, and community library.