Species Saturday Vol 2: Koalas (North vs South)

Hello - Happy Species Saturday!

Longleat Safari Park recently became the home to the first southern koala to be born in Europe - amazing! 🐨

Aside from the photos being incredibly cute, we wanted to delve deeper into the world of koala north vs koala south (but you can find more information about the baby koala- aka joey- from The Independent)!

🐨 Whilst they are the same species, these variants have developed in order to adapt to the differences in climate

🐨 Southern Koalas are larger, darker and fluffier than their Northern cousins who have adapted for the warmer climate

🐨 Their fur colour is also different, with northern koalas having the silvery grey fur we all recognise, and southern koalas have a reddish-brown fur and more layers of fat to keep them warm in winter

Also for some more general facts!

🐨 Koalas have unique fingerprints, just like humans and chimps do. They can also be recognised by distinct patterns on their noses. 

🐨 Their closest relative is the wombat. Like them they have a hard rump, but koalas use this for chill things like sitting in trees whereas wombats use theirs for defence (pretty bad ass, literally) 

We sourced these facts from Goodliving.com.au