The koala is a unique, tree-dwelling marsupial that inhabits only the coastal areas of eastern and southern Australia. Because of their distinctive appearance, which resembles a small bear, koalas have become an iconic species and are recognized worldwide as a symbol of Australia.
Koalas have a highly specialized lifestyle and are poorly adapted to environmental changes. That is, their diet consists mostly of eucalyptus leaves, which have low nutritional and caloric content, and thus they are largely sedentary and sleep as much as twenty hours a day in the same trees. A strong demand for their soft fur and the ease of hunting them resulted in a dramatic drop in their population, with extinctions in some areas, in the early twentieth century.
Despite a rebounding due a ban on hunting and other measures as a result of a public outcry, koalas are again in serious decline, this time mainly as a result of rampant deforestation for agriculture and urbanization. This deforestation not only removes the eucalyptus trees that they require for food and as homes, but also increases the incidence of being attacked by dogs, hit by cars, and contracting diseases.