NOTES AND 
THE Koala is a marsupial, widely distributed 
over Australia, and is generally 
The Koala. . called by the colonists the 
“Native Bear.” Robustly made, 
it has stout limbs and powerful claws, but 
is entirely destitute of tail. Leaves are 
its chief food. Its fur is of a fawn 
colour, very thick and soft, and when full 
grown it is-about 24 to 30 inches long. In 
character it is mild, retiring and inoffensive, 
generally sleeping in the gum-trees during 
the day and waking to activity as night 
approaches. It has a rather melancholy 
ery, somewhat resembling that of an infant, 
which it pathetically utters when shot, often 
raismg the pity of the skin-hunter. The 
mother bear generally carries her young on 
her back, to which it clings until it is old 
enough to shift for itself. At one time 
this little animal was found very plentifully 
throughout the bush, but has now in some 
parts completely disappeared owing to the 
imroads made by skin-hunters, who find a 
ready market for the hides in Sydney and 
Melbourne. Being of such a quiet and 
gentle nature, the young ones are frequently 
reared by the bush people, as they make 
charming little pets. The hide generally 
fetches from 5d. to 1s: each in the Sydney 
markets, and is used for commercial purposes, 
the fur, owing to its density, being practically 
of no value. 
OS" 
In connection with the article on the local 
Giraffes at the forms of giraffes published in 
Natural His= an earlier number of ANIMAL 
ORY HMnSSIe Lire, and likewise with the 
communication on the same subject recently 
read by Mr. Lydekker before the Zoological 
Society, it may be appropriate to direct the 
attention of our readers to the fine series 
of mounted skins of these animals now 
exhibited in the Natural History Branch 
Museum. Not many years ago the exhibits 
COMMENTS. 
included only an old bull of the southern 
race presented in the “forties” by the then 
Earl of Derby, and consequently in a 
much faded and dilapidated condition, and 
the head and neck of a younger and con- 
sequently lighter-coloured bull of the same 
sub-species from the Kalahari Desert, pre- 
sented by Mr. H. A. Bryden. The next 
addition to the series was a specimen of 
the head and neck of the Somali or Netted 
Giraffe (Giraffa reticulata), presented by 
Lord Delamere. The very marked distinct- 
ness of this giraffe—the only one, in fact, 
THE KOALA. 
385 
