Koala
The Extraordinary Life of an Enigmatic Animal
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
Winner of the 2023 Whitley Award for Popular Ecology
A New Scientist Best Popular Science Book of the Year
"This is the book I’ve been waiting for." —Sy Montgomery, author of The Soul of an Octopus
An Australian biologist delves into the extraordinary world of koalas, from their ancient ancestors to the current threats to their survival.
Koalas regularly appeared in Australian biologist Danielle Clode’s backyard, but it was only when a bushfire threatened that she truly paid them attention. She soon realized how much she had to learn about these complex and mysterious animals.
In vivid, descriptive prose, Clode embarks on a delightful and surprising journey through evolutionary biology, natural history, and ecology to understand where these enigmatic animals came from and what their future may hold. She begins her search with the fossils of ancient giant koalas, delving into why the modern koala has become the lone survivor of a once-diverse family of uniquely Australian marsupials.
Koala investigates the remarkable physiology of these charismatic creatures. Born the size of tiny “jellybeans,” joeys face an uphill battle, from crawling into their mother’s pouch to being weaned onto a toxic diet of gum-tree leaves, the koalas’ single source of food.
Clode explores the complex relationship and unexpected connections between this endearing species and humans. She explains how koalas are simultaneously threatened with extinction in some areas due to disease, climate change, and increasing wildfires, while overpopulating forests in other parts of the country.
Deeply researched and filled with wonder, Koala is both a tender and inquisitive paean to a species unlike any other and a call to ensure its survival.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Koalas "deserve better than to be simultaneously patronised as fluffy children's toys and left to suffer from increasing diseases in ever-reducing habitats," according to this entertaining paean to the marsupials. Australian biologist Clode (Voyages to the South Seas) digs into the evolution, biology, and behavior of koalas, examining their prehistoric ancestors, how marsupial brains differ from other mammal brains, and why some koalas appear drawn to humans. She highlights the creatures' extraordinary senses and notes that they are one of the few animals known to have fingerprints, which may enhance their ability to sense vibrations. Acute hearing enables males to detect whether a rival is larger based on the frequency of its bellow, obviating the need to engage in physical competition for territory. Warning of the dangers that climate change poses for the animals, Clode reports that forest fires over the past several years have killed off a large chunk of the species and that because koalas don't molt, they struggle to make it through the hot summers. Research offers an insightful peek into the world of koalas and makes a persuasive case that though they've been underestimated, koalas must not be taken for granted. Like Leila Philip's Beaverland, this is the outing animal lovers didn't know they needed.
