Koala. 



263 



THE KOALA. 



(Native Bear.) 



While not as important commercially as the Common 

 Phalanger, the skins of the Koala are used extensively in the 

 manufacture of sleeping bags, coats and other articles 

 where a durable, reasonable priced fur is desired. The sci- 

 entific designation of this animal signifies Ashy Pouched 

 Bear, which is a very good description of it. The Koala is 

 strictly arboreal, the natives often being obliged to fol- 

 low it to the top of the highest trees sixty and seventy 

 feet above the ground. 



Koala. 



The Koala is the largest Australian mammal living in the 

 trees and that is probably the reason why it is called the 

 bear by the natives, as it is imlike that animal in its noc- 

 turnal habits as well as its slow movements, in both of 

 which characteristics it resembles the sloth. 



It is from eighteen to twenty-four inches long, and the 

 general color is a light grey, the tips of the coarse hair be- 

 ing white. The upper part of the belly and chest and the 

 insides of the legs are white, and the lower part of the belly 

 is reddish brown, at times approaching to a dark purple 

 hue. The fur on the hind quarters is much shorter than on 

 the rest of the body, and has patches and spots of white. The 

 ■ ears are very short, tufted on the inside with long white 



