File:Koala sitting in tree with young - DPLA - a4c0cf4e840f15285313893a3ffe4f98.jpg

35 mm slide; color. Scientific Classification: Kingdom: Animalia; Phylum: Chordata; Class: Mammalia; Order: Diprotondontia; Family: Phascolarctidae; Genus: Phascolarctos; Genus species: Phascolarctos cinereus. Animal characteristics: Head-Body Length: 60-85 cm (largest in southern regions); Weight: 5-12 kg; Identification: The koala has a gray to tawny coat. It has white patches on its chin, chest, forelimbs, and rump; Habitat: Eucalypt forests below 600m in elevation; Diet: Herbivore: vast majority of the diet is the leaves of a few eucalypt species. They will regularly eat soil to aid in digestion; Reproduction: The breeding season is during the summer months. Gestation is 34-36 days with one young born at a time. Offspring are weaned at five months. Koalas can live up to 13 years; Behavior: Koalas are primarily arboreal and can sleep up to 18 hours a day. Their populations can grow extremely quickly and must be carefully managed; Status: No special status; Interesting Facts: The koala, like all marsupials, has a pouch that holds the young when first born. However, a koala's pouch faces backwards. Koalas suffer from a fungal disease, cryptococcosis, that causes lesions and abscesses in the lungs, joints, and brain; this disease is zoonotic, meaning it can be spread to humans.