THE KOALA , OR AUSTRALIAN BEAR. 
371 
when they are under the influence of some potent excitement, they can seldom refrain from 
chasing an “opossum,” even though they have been well fed by the white settlers. When 
the fresh body of a Vulpine Phalangist is opened, a kind of camphorated odor is diffused from 
it, which is probably occasioned by the foliage of the camphor-perfumed trees in which it 
dwells, and the leaves of which it eats. 
The fur of this animal is not valued so highly as that of the Tapoa, probably because it is 
of more common occurrence, for the color of the hair is much more elegant, and its quality 
seems to be really excellent. Some few experiments have been made upon the capabilities of 
this fur, and, as far as has yet been accomplished, with very great success. Good judges 
have declared that articles which have been made from this fur presented a great resemblance 
to those which had been made from Angola wool, but appeared to be of superior quality. 
The hat-makers have already discovered the value of the fur, and are in the habit of employ- 
ing it in their trade. 
The natives employ the skin of the “opossum” in the manufacture of their scanty mantles, 
as well as for sundry other purposes, and prepare the skins in a rather ingenious manner. As 
soon as the skin is stripped from the animal’ s body, it is laid on the ground, with the hairy 
side downwards, and secured from shrinking by a number of little pegs which are fixed around 
its edges. The inner side is then continually scraped with a shell, and by degrees the skin 
becomes perfectly clean and pliable. When a sufficient number of skins are prepared, they 
are ingeniously sewn together with thread that is made from the tendons of the kangaroo, 
which, when dried, can be separated into innumerable filaments. A sharpened piece of bone 
stands the sable tailor in place of a needle. From the skin of the same animal is also formed 
the “kumeel,” or badge of manhood, a slight belt, which no one is permitted to wear until he 
has been solemnly admitted among the assembly of men. 
In its color, the Vulpine Phalangist is rather variable, but the general hue of its fur is a 
grayish-brown, sometimes tinted with a ruddy hue. The tail is long, thick, and woolly in its 
character, and in color it resembles that of the body, with the exception of the tip, which is 
nearly black. The dimensions of an old male are given by Mr. Bennett as follows : Total 
length, two feet seven inches ; the head being four inches in length, and the tail nearly a foot. 
The quaint-looking animal which is popularly known by the native name of Koala, or 
the Australian Bear, is of some importance in the zoological world, as its serves to fill up 
the gulf that exists between the phalangistines and the kangaroos. 
It has been well remarked that this creature, arboreal in its habits, and really ursine in its 
general aspect, is the representative of the sun -bears of the Indian Archipelago, or of the sloths 
of America. The Koala is nocturnal in its habits, and is not very frequently found, even in 
the localities which it most affects. It is not nearly so widely spread as most of the preceding 
animals, as it is never known to exist in a wild state except in the south-eastern regions of 
Australia. 
Although well adapted by nature for climbing among the branches of trees, the Koala is 
by no means an active animal, proceeding on its way with very great deliberation, and making 
sure of its hold as it goes along. Its feet are peculiarly adapted for the slow but sure mode 
in which the animal progresses among the branches by the structure of the toes of the fore-feet 
or paws, which are divided into two sets, the one composed of the two inner toes, and the 
other of the three outer, in a manner which reminds the observer of the feet of the scansorial 
birds and the chameleon. This formation, although well calculated to serve the animal when 
it is moving among the branches, is but of little use when it is upon the ground, so that the 
terrestrial progress of the Koalo is especially slow, and the creature seems to crawl rather than 
walk. 
As far as is yet known, its food is of a vegetable nature, and consists chiefly of the young 
leaves, buds, and twigs of the eucalypti, or gum-trees, as they are more popularly called. 
When it drinks, it laps like a dog. 
It seems to be a very gentle creature, and will often suffer itself to be captured without 
offering much resistance, or seeming to trouble itself about its captivity. But it is liable, as 
