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Rank: Advanced Member
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 KoalasAlthough they are somewhat bearlike in appearance and are sometimes called koala bears, koalas are not related to true bears. Native to Australia, the koala is a slow-moving, nocturnal, arboreal marsupial, or pouched mammal. It has perhaps the most specialized diet of any living mammal: it feeds on leaves and shoots of a particular species of eucalyptus in a certain stage of maturation. What identifying features possessed by koalas are almost indistinguishable from those of humans? More...
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I'm surprised to find out that koalas aren't actually bears. It makes sense; I suppose I just never really thought about it. Additionally surprising is how ferociously they typically defend themselves against humans. They are apparently not as gentle and cuddly as they appear.
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The same goes for pandas and kangaroos. These animals are wild and vicious. Years of childhood cartoons and stuffed animals may have taught us different, but just because an animal is fuzzy and furry and wide-eyed doesn't mean it is friendly and just waiting to be cuddled.
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Somebody sure missed it on the name here; those little buggers are always "drunk"! I wonder if the reduced brain size has to do with the alcohols in the eucalypts they've been eating. Studies of FAS babies among humans shows a smaller brain size, so that would possibly make some sense, since they've been almost exclusively consuming that diet for centuries. They are cute.
fair winds and following seas
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I came into this thread expecting to see adorable koalas.
I did not expect to hear that they are actually vicious firebrands made out of pure ferocity that spend all day getting trashed enough to physically shrink their brains.
I have a somewhat different image of them now.
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Rank: Advanced Member
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MichalG wrote:
The same goes for pandas and kangaroos. These animals are wild and vicious. Years
of childhood cartoons and stuffed animals may have taught us different, but just
because an animal is fuzzy and furry and wide-eyed doesn't mean it is friendly and
just waiting to be cuddled.
True, but they sure are cute! I got to hold one years ago at a wildlife park in Australia. Recently, I got to hold a baby kangaroo, who was absolutely adorable!
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A call of the Koala sounds a lot like a crying baby.
There are stories of the early settlers frantically wandering around the bush searching for the lost children they believed they were hearing.
I think therefore I think I am
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Rank: Advanced Member
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MichalG wrote:The same goes for pandas and kangaroos. These animals are wild and vicious. Years of childhood cartoons and stuffed animals may have taught us different, but just because an animal is fuzzy and furry and wide-eyed doesn't mean it is friendly and just waiting to be cuddled. Pandas are actually bears though, right? That's not a misnomer also, is it?
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drew wrote:
Pandas are actually bears though, right? That's not a misnomer also, is it?
Drew, I heard recently, genetics show pandas share more common ancestry with cainine (dogs) than bears.
I think therefore I think I am
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Rank: Member
Joined: 10/23/2009
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Location: Argentina
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Daemon wrote:<script>add2all('article')</script><img align=left width="100" height="98" src="http://img.tfd.com/IOD/Koala_climbing_tree.jpg">
koalas are not related to true bears the koala is a slow-moving, nocturnal, arboreal marsupial, It has perhaps the most specialized diet of any living mammal: it feeds on leaves and. More...</a> : YOU´RE TROULY WRONG. sP.
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Location: Australia
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Tyson is right with what he is saying, but they also growl, really angry little drunks. We have a colony in my town, along the river. Last year we had 10 days over 40c, the poor little blokes were so stressed the council workers took tanker loads of water down and sprayed them in the trees to cool them off.
We lost some to vehicles when they tried and cross the road to visit their girl friends.Now we have an underpass, and everyone is happy.
Why is Daemon wrong? have I missed something?
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