Koalas survive on stringy eucalyptus leaves, which are filled with toxic molecules that render the plant inedible to basically every other living thing. (Related: As Koalas Suffer From Chlamydia, A New Clue For Treatment), “All our efforts in the whole koala research community to develop a vaccine... has been limited by the fact that we don’t know enough about their immune system,” says Willa Huston, a microbiologist at the University of Technology Sydney. It has to do with the unique microbes that inhabit the animalsâ digestive tract. That’s the best information to have “when you’re trying to track and understand genetic diversity in a species,” she says. How do koalas die? Eucalyptus leaves contain few nutrients, so a koala must … And since their food provides little energy, koalas tend to be lethargic. In fact, the word koala was thought to mean “no drink” in the Australian aboriginal language. Koalas are tough eaters; eating eucalyptus leaves would kill most animals, but a koala can eat them without getting sick. But what’s even more fascinating is that these microbes are also passed down from mother to baby through the pap. But if the populations start to inbreed, “the species as a whole gets [worse] at dealing with the new challenges,” she says. Koalas only eat gum leaves – that part is true – but the leaves don't cause them to get drunk or high. Even though they are fussy eaters, they are still a lot more diverse in their diet compared to other marsupials. The phenomenon called "stemflow" gives koalas access to much-needed hydration. But it also contains a toxic cocktail of chemicals that are believed to serve as the plant’s protection against leaf-eating insects. Because these have high water content, most koalas meet their water requirements by simply dining on the leaves. In fact, among all mammals, only the koala and three other marsupials (brushtail possum, common ringtail possum, and greater glider) are known to consume Eucalyptus foliage. … Eucalyptus leaves have very little nutritional value, provide almost no energy (in the form of calories), are hard to digest and are poisonous to almost every mammal besides the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus).Needless to say, koalas face little competition for their favorite food source. The kolas diet consists … The liver is responsible for deactivating the poisonous compounds. Adult koalas feed as much as they can to reach their daily schedule of consuming between 200-500 grams of eucalyptus leaves. Koalas are really good at getting rid of poisonous plant molecules, but the system that flushes those out also clears many medicines out of their systems very, very quickly—many times faster than humans. This could be one reason why Koalas will eat only certain types … Mani Kant. It uses its strong jaws and ridged teeth to chew the leaves slowly and break them down as much as possible. Here is a quick look at some of the most common foods that koalas enjoy eating. But they are known to consume even more when they are lactating. Koalas eat only bark and eucalyptus leaves. Koalas, however, have to sleep long hours because eucalyptus leaves do not produce much energy … Koalas feed in a range of 6 to 10 bouts for an average of 20 minutes but that food can last 5 to 18 minutes. Koalas have special microbes in their digestive tract to make their diet possible. They suspected that the koalas were able to somehow sense how toxic or nutritious each leaf was based its smell. Chlamydia, retroviruses, and an immunodeficiency disorder called Koala … But scientists have recently found that koalas also get water by licking down tree trunks during rainfall.