That may have been the cutest video on the whole of the internet! Little Tinkerbell was being fed after being rescued from the Koala Hospital in Port Macquerie, New South Wales. 

The Koala Hospital in Port Macquarie, Australia, is the world’s first hospital dedicated solely to the care and preservation of koalas. The Hospital has a treatment room, eight Intensive Care Units, a 24 Hour Rescue and Treatment operation and multiple recovery yards. The Hospital has a research affiliation with the University of Sydney, Australia. You can help them do miracles saving koalas by adopting a baby koala just like Little Tinkerbell!

Or if you are interested in helping save koalas, you can learn how in the detailed guides written by professionals at the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital. They sell them here.

Yummy Tummy Koalas, originally uploaded by Landor Sydney.

• Koalas and kangaroos both live in Australia.
• Koalas and kangaroos start with the letter K.
• Koalas and kangaroos can have more than one baby but generally only have one a season.
• A koala baby is called a joey. A kangaroo baby is called a joey.
• Koalas and kangaroos are marsupials.
• Koalas and kangaroos both eat leaves.
• Koalas and kangaroos both have pouches.
• Koala and kangaroo parents both digest the food before feeding it to their young.
• Neither koalas nor kangaroos mate for life.

Koala Bear, originally uploaded by cewoldt.

BULLDOZERS rolled in to some of the last remaining koala habitats on the South Coast yesterday, marking the start of what police fear could be a divisive logging operation.

After reading yesterday that we made up some ground in this fight for suitable habitat areas with the 1200 fodder tree sanctuary it is planning, I am discouraged to read this travesty of environmental justice. This must be stopped or the koala will lose its habitat in the South Coast for good. Sheesh! One step forward, two steps back.

Read more of this article here.

• In the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Aborigines called Koalas by the word Cullawines
• Near Sydney, Aborigines called Koalas by the word Koolahs
• In the Murray Region, Aborigines called Koalas by the word Karbors
• Other Aboriginal names for Koalas include: Bangaroos, Koolewongs, Narnagoons and Colos

So how does this type of pouch benefit the koala?

Baby koalas, also known as joeys, must eat Pap, a special blend of their mother’s feces. The practice of eating feces is called coprophagy. While this may sound disgusting to you and I, it is vital for the joeys to be introduced to the micro-organisms needed to digest the typically toxic eucalyptus leaves. The micro-organisms come directly from their mother’s digestive system via the pap. The rear-oriented pouch opening facilitates the necessary practice of coprophagy and thusly, serves the koala’s needs for survival.

The interesting point to investigate is where this pouch evolved from and where does this point for the evolutionary history of the koala?

If you have more information on this than we do, we’d love to read about it and discuss it with you.

Sources:
http://www.thekoala.com/koala/
http://darwinstories.blogspot.com/2008/05/how-koala-got-it-backwards.html

There is a deep grunting bellow which the male uses to signify its social and physical position. Males save fighting energy by bellowing their dominance and they also bellow to allow other animals to accurately locate the position of the caller.

Females do not bellow as often as males, but their calls too are used to express aggression as well as being part of sexual behaviour, often giving the impression of fighting.

Mothers and babies make soft clicking, squeaking sounds and gentle humming or murmuring sounds to one another, as well as gentle grunts to signal displeasure or annoyance.

All koalas share one common call which is elicited by fear. It is a sickening cry like a baby screaming and is made by animals under stress. It is often accompanied by shaking.

Koalas also communicate by marking their trees with their scent.

LISTEN TO EXAMPLES HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.

Direct Source: http://www.thekoala.com/koala/

The koala is in danger because of habit-loss, fires, random violent weirdos, domestic animals (bad ubu!) and limited access to food.

Just exactly how much can a koala bear?

Source: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24406229-421,00.html