Koalas
mate between December and February, depending on location.
A single baby is born after a 35 day gestation period.
It is blind, hairless, and only 3/4 inch long. By
instinct, it drags itself into its mother’s pouch,
which opens to the rear instead of the front as with
most other marsupials. Inside the pouch, the baby
koala feeds first on mother’s milk, and later on half-digested
food that is passed through the mother’s rectum. After
six months, the young koala leaves the pouch and clings
to its mother’s back, remaining with her until the
following mating season. It then moves to another
tree and lives independently for two to four years
until it is sexually mature.
