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Koalas
In addition to milk, the joey eats 鈥榩ap鈥� 鈥� this is a liquefied form of the mother鈥檚 faeces
- Young females have a baby every year. Older females sometimes only have a baby once every 2 years.
- Pregnancy lasts 25 to 50 days.
- The joey will spend 5 to 7 months in the pouch.
- When producing milk, a mother has to eat 36% more food than normal.
- The joey will suckle for 6 to 12 months.
- In addition to milk, the joey eats ‘pap’ – this is a liquefied form of the mother’s faeces which provides the baby with the microbes it needs to digest eucalyptus leaves. It starts eating this towards the end of the time in the pouch.
- When it leaves the pouch for good the joey clings to its mother’s belly.
- Older joeys cling to their mother’s back.
- A joey will stay with its mother until the next joey emerges from the pouch.
- A joey becomes independent of its mother at 11 months old.
- They become sexually mature at 2 years old, but a male is unlikely to mate until he is 4 years old.
Koala babies eat mum鈥檚 poo
A joey eats a liquefied form of his mother鈥檚 faeces known as 鈥榩ap鈥�.
