Australia’s koalas are amazing animals– and also, they’re likewise extraordinary. These eucalyptus-loving marsupials have several strange quirks. However, one of the most well-known might be their practice of sleeping over 20 hours a day. While this is a typical method of predators like tigers and lions that invest their waking hours searching, it’s really odd behavior for a relaxed herbivore like the koala. So, why do koalas rest so much? Unfortunately, the answer is the type of absurd.
Marsupial Snooze Time
To understand why koalas rest so much, we need to recognize their diet regimen. Typically, the animals live in the eucalyptus woodlands of Australia. So the eucalyptus leaf makes an effortless and plentiful meal for the koala.
Why Do Koalas Rest So Much?
Eucalyptus fallen leaves are infamously toxic to the majority of animals. Koalas have a unique enzyme called cytochrome P540 that lets them absorb the eco-friendlies without any kind of trouble; the marsupials even have chosen strains of the plant. Eucalyptus leaves are also very high in water content. So a smaller-sized female can get their essential everyday water intake simply from eating the leaves.
As a result, there are many advantages concerning the koala’s diet plan– eucalyptus is convenient, usual, and frequently high in healthy protein and water. However, there’s one huge trouble. Eucalyptus simply doesn’t function as passionate food. As any trend dieter can tell you, consuming salad all the time is a sure way to reduce weight. Likewise, eucalyptus leaves are incredibly reduced in calories and do not provide koalas a whole lot of energy to work with.
Sleeping the Day Away
Just how do koalas make it through off of a diet regimen made up mainly of leafed greens? Well, they ensure not to exercise much and also rest a great deal. Typically, koalas are actually only active for four hrs of the day, usually at night. The following 20 hrs of the day, they’re resting it off and saving their power for the next day.
This is also partially why koalas often tend to sleep and also consume in the exact same tree before carrying on to another branch the next day. It’s so much less complex that way, and also simpler means less power. All of these habits decrease the koala’s metabolic process to a stand-still, letting them conserve calories. You can think about a koala’s sleeping habits as a sort of day-to-day mini-hibernation– just like the long hibernation of a bear preparing yourself for the limited days of wintertime.
