trees the koala uses its powerful jaw and razor sharp teeth to tear apart the gum leaves. All movements made by the koala are slow and careful, when a fall from the tree would mean sudden death for the creature. It spends mainly all of its life up in the trees. The koala sleeps, eats, and takes care of its young all up in the high gum trees in Australia. The koala can run on land, but in the event of an attack the nearest tree to the koala is where it is headed. It runs to the tree and takes a three-foot leap onto it. Once on the tree it can either jump foot by foot up until they reach safety, or slowly climb to any given point in the forest by climbing from tree to tree.The koala is also a fantastic swimmer. Although they are very strong swimmers they seem to be somewhat clumsy moving along with almost all of its body submerged. There are several sightings of the koala swimming in bays and along reefs in order to avoid walking on land and take the risk of running into predators. Mating season in the jungles of Australia is extremely noticeable, due to the call of the koala during this time. The koalas call is described as a harsh, grating sound, like a handsaw going through a thin board (Phillips 1990). There is one story in which a man was working with a chain saw when he looked up and saw a large koala coming toward him. The animal grabbed him by the pants and bit his leg and wrist, when it was captured and placed in a box the animal made a very loud, growling cry (Serventy 1975). It is believed that when the koala heard the noise of the chain saw it felt it had to defend its territory with any means necessary. When the baby koala is born it is just a little bit bigger than a human fingernail. During its youth it spends its time in its mothers pouch, just like the ever-famous Australian animal the kangaroo. While in the pouch there are the teats of the mother for the baby to feed on. The mother koala can continue a...
