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Koala: A Natural History and an Uncertain Future
Koalas regularly appeared in Australian biologist Danielle Clode’s backyard, but it was only when a bushfire threatened that she truly paid them attention. She soon realized how much she had to learn about these complex and mysterious animals.
In vivid, descriptive prose, Clode embarks on a delightful and surprising journey through evolutionary biology, natural history, and ecology to understand where these enigmatic animals came from and what their future may hold. She begins her search with the fossils of ancient giant koalas, delving into why the modern koala has become the lone survivor of a once-diverse family of uniquely Australian marsupials.
Koala investigates the remarkable physiology of these charismatic creatures. Born the size of tiny “jellybeans,” joeys face an uphill battle, from crawling into their mother’s pouch to being weaned onto a toxic diet of gum-tree leaves, the koalas’ single source of food.
Clode explores the complex relationship and unexpected connections between this endearing species and humans. She explains how koalas are simultaneously threatened with extinction in some areas due to disease, climate change, and increasing wildfires, while overpopulating forests in other parts of the country.
Deeply researched and filled with wonder, Koala is both a tender and inquisitive paean to a species unlike any other and a call to ensure its survival.
In vivid, descriptive prose, Clode embarks on a delightful and surprising journey through evolutionary biology, natural history, and ecology to understand where these enigmatic animals came from and what their future may hold. She begins her search with the fossils of ancient giant koalas, delving into why the modern koala has become the lone survivor of a once-diverse family of uniquely Australian marsupials.
Koala investigates the remarkable physiology of these charismatic creatures. Born the size of tiny “jellybeans,” joeys face an uphill battle, from crawling into their mother’s pouch to being weaned onto a toxic diet of gum-tree leaves, the koalas’ single source of food.
Clode explores the complex relationship and unexpected connections between this endearing species and humans. She explains how koalas are simultaneously threatened with extinction in some areas due to disease, climate change, and increasing wildfires, while overpopulating forests in other parts of the country.
Deeply researched and filled with wonder, Koala is both a tender and inquisitive paean to a species unlike any other and a call to ensure its survival.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published January 17, 2023
47 people are currently reading
3443 people want to read
About the author
Danielle Clode
15 books67 followersDanielle is the author of several narrative non-fiction books including Voyages to the South Seas, which won the Victorian Premier's Literary Prize for nonfiction in 2007 and The Wasp and the Orchid which was shortlisted for the National Biography Award in 2018. She has also written books on Australian palaeontology, killer whales, bushfires and museums as well as publishing essays and academic papers.
Her latest book, Koala, was published internationally in Australia by Black Inc and in the US/UK by WW Norton. It won a Whitley Award for Popular Ecology.
Danielle grew up on a boat and studied zoology at university, giving her an abiding interest in natural history and the environment, which is apparent in all her writing.
Her latest book, Koala, was published internationally in Australia by Black Inc and in the US/UK by WW Norton. It won a Whitley Award for Popular Ecology.
Danielle grew up on a boat and studied zoology at university, giving her an abiding interest in natural history and the environment, which is apparent in all her writing.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
March 27, 2024
Inside joke, but some of my friends call me koala. I'm not explaining. I've always been curious about the adorable creatures, and decided to pick this one up. While it started off kind of slow, it began to pick up at the end.
Islands are dangerous for ecosystems, especially ones that burn as frequently as Australia. These tiny cute animals have been endangered on and off for years. I didn't realize their export was illegal until SD petitioned to house some at their zoo. They are expensive to house, as they must have the eucalyptus trees they're used to eating.
Also, didn't realize they were spreading STIs like wildfire. The more you know.
🖥️ NetGalley
Islands are dangerous for ecosystems, especially ones that burn as frequently as Australia. These tiny cute animals have been endangered on and off for years. I didn't realize their export was illegal until SD petitioned to house some at their zoo. They are expensive to house, as they must have the eucalyptus trees they're used to eating.
Also, didn't realize they were spreading STIs like wildfire. The more you know.
🖥️ NetGalley
January 7, 2023
I have been reading this one off and on for a couple of months. Nonfiction is not my thing so I just read a chapter here and there but close to the end I did not want to put the book down. I have loved koalas all of my life so when I saw this book available on edelweiss I had to have it. This book starts millions of years ago so when it says a history, it means a history. Also, the author is a zoologist and that shows as well. There are so many technical terms and you learn every piece of the koala inside and out. SO many scientific facts! My poor husband as I read and told him so many facts about the koala. I learned so much! One day I will go to Australia and see a koala in the wild!
-Koalas are simply unlike anything else we know of.
-...almost two thirds of Australia's native mammals are marsupials. No other landmass in the world is as dominated by marsupials as Australia.
-Cute and cuddly, but with razor claws.
-They have three fingers and two thumbs.
-They are also the only species to have fingerprints other than humans, chimpanzees, and gorillas.
-It's not like they'll eat any old gum leaves. Koalas are notoriously fussy about their food.
-Of the hundreds of species of eucalypts found across Australia, only seventy percent or so are recognized as koala food trees and, of these, any one individual koala might only eat three or five or ten different species.
-I remember reading somewhere that koala fur is so think and waterproof that it was once popular for lining the greatcoats of northern armies in Siberia and fur trappers in the depths of the Canadian Yukon.
-The technical description for koala's mating call is snoring-like inhalations followed by resonant growling expirations. Some call them tree pigs or unkindly compare their calls to the braying of a donkey or the guttural sound of something stuck in a garbage disposal.
-From conception to birth is only thirty-five days.
-But I do know that koalas, like all of us, need something to hold, whether it's a tree or the warmth of another body.
-In the end, it was not he Australian government who stopped the slaughter, but an American president. Hoover responded by prohibiting the importation of koala and wombat skins into the United States, and the trade eventually dried up.
-Koalas are the million dollar babies. They raise more funds than any other species in the world.
-Over the course of their evolutionary history, koalas have responded to climate change, disease, changing forests, increasing aridity, predation and hunting. And they have survived.
-The story of the koala has taken me into the distant past, across continent and cultures and through an incredibly wide range of knowledge systems: botany, ecology, Indigenous knowledge, evolution, palaeontology, anatomy, conservation biology, history, toxicology, psychology, veterinary and nutritional science, and animal behavior.
(I wasn't kidding about all the science in this book!)
-Koalas are simply unlike anything else we know of.
-...almost two thirds of Australia's native mammals are marsupials. No other landmass in the world is as dominated by marsupials as Australia.
-Cute and cuddly, but with razor claws.
-They have three fingers and two thumbs.
-They are also the only species to have fingerprints other than humans, chimpanzees, and gorillas.
-It's not like they'll eat any old gum leaves. Koalas are notoriously fussy about their food.
-Of the hundreds of species of eucalypts found across Australia, only seventy percent or so are recognized as koala food trees and, of these, any one individual koala might only eat three or five or ten different species.
-I remember reading somewhere that koala fur is so think and waterproof that it was once popular for lining the greatcoats of northern armies in Siberia and fur trappers in the depths of the Canadian Yukon.
-The technical description for koala's mating call is snoring-like inhalations followed by resonant growling expirations. Some call them tree pigs or unkindly compare their calls to the braying of a donkey or the guttural sound of something stuck in a garbage disposal.
-From conception to birth is only thirty-five days.
-But I do know that koalas, like all of us, need something to hold, whether it's a tree or the warmth of another body.
-In the end, it was not he Australian government who stopped the slaughter, but an American president. Hoover responded by prohibiting the importation of koala and wombat skins into the United States, and the trade eventually dried up.
-Koalas are the million dollar babies. They raise more funds than any other species in the world.
-Over the course of their evolutionary history, koalas have responded to climate change, disease, changing forests, increasing aridity, predation and hunting. And they have survived.
-The story of the koala has taken me into the distant past, across continent and cultures and through an incredibly wide range of knowledge systems: botany, ecology, Indigenous knowledge, evolution, palaeontology, anatomy, conservation biology, history, toxicology, psychology, veterinary and nutritional science, and animal behavior.
(I wasn't kidding about all the science in this book!)
February 27, 2023
An engaging and well-written exploration of my favorite animal. I learned so much about koalas that I had not already known!
April 13, 2023
There's a myth that koalas have to sleep 19 hours a day because the gum tree leaves they eat get them stoned and sick. Turns out, they aren't stoned. They can sleep 19 hours a day because they don't have to go to a job or the gym or any of that shit. They sleep because they can. Great reminder to us all
April 3, 2023
Surprisingly, there aren't that many books about koalas so I'm happy to read one that just came out. Now I know enough to respond to anyone who thinks it's necessary to talk badly about an endangered species.
January 29, 2023
Excellent read both entertaining and educational.
January 13, 2023
Chasing the rare to inform all of us (Australia, southeastern and eastern coasts; spanning centuries to present-day): Imagine having “nowhere to go, nowhere to hide and no capacity to run” as a roaring fire heads your way “lighting up the horizon with a livid orange glow.” You live in a unique part of the world where bushfires are a way of life. In your world you’re rare. In the spiritual world, you’re a symbol of relaxation and peace. Yours are called “million dollar babies.” You’re simply “unlike anything else we know of.” Who are you?
If you hadn’t seen the cover and title of Danielle Clode’s newest book, would you guess you’re from a species around for some 37 million years yet only abundantly studied over the last twenty or so years?
Koalas are iconic symbols of Australia. Surprisingly, very little is known about them. Danielle Clode, an Australian zoologist/biologist, wants to change that. “It amazes me a creature this iconic and distinctive to Australia is so mysterious.” Her husband says, “Maybe there’s not much to know.” Her reply, Koala: A Natural History and an Uncertain Future,” vividly shows “there is just a lot more to koala than meets the eye.”
In dedicating this unusual, beautifully told story, Clode confirms what the reader delightfully discovers: there’s something in this book everyone can enjoy and learn from. When Clode lays out a “perfect world” and fears of an “apocalyptic wasteland,” she’s not just speaking about koalas. “Quite literally,” she says, she’s standing up “to protect life as we know it.”
Singular might be one way to describe the author too. How often does someone spend their childhood education sailing around a continent, then attending college and winning a Rhodes scholarship to Oxford University, where she earned a doctorate in zoology? One might assume her curiosity to “tell the story of the koala” was instilled early on – seeing, experiencing a stunning and wild landscape of enormous, unique biodiversity. A word that encompasses all forms of life in a geographic region.
Clode, an award-winning, mostly nonfiction writer, did it the “hard way” to craft this captivating and quite accessible book combining creative and academic writing, which she teaches at Flinders University in Adelaide. The school states its commitment to the “Traditional Owners of Country” (numbering close to a million Aboriginal peoples), reflecting Clode’s respectful acknowledgements before and during – not after – Koala’s fascinating story unfolds.
Creating this book involved researching, visiting, interpreting, and integrating numerous fields of knowledge: “Botany, ecology, Indigenous knowledge, evolution, paleontology, anatomy, conservation biology, history, toxicology, psychology, veterinary and nutritional science, and animal behavior.”
Thanks to two American Presidents – Teddy Roosevelt and Herbert Hoover – koalas became popular and were saved back in the early 20th century. Teddy, the reason they’re called bears when they’re not. Hoover banned importing them for their soft and thick fur, leading Australia to bar exporting them so the killing stopped. Hoover provides an interesting example of the value of travel, appreciating koalas from his time gold mining in Western Australia.
This two-minute National Geographic video highlights some of the koala characteristics you’ll read about:
https://education.nationalgeographic....
Two pages of compelling novelistic prose preface each of the book’s six parts – Into the Woods, From Fossils to Bones, Life in the Forest, A Life in Reflection, Everything Changes, and Future Tense. For instance, the opening sentence begins with: “A cool breeze ruffled the koala’s fur, causing her to stir in her sleep.” Sleep as in twenty hours a day, which has given them a bad rap that they’re dumb.
A few questions Clode explores argues why they’re smarter than we might think:
* Why do koalas only eat specific types of leaves from one species of tree: Eucalypts? A designation referring to “800 or 900” types of gum trees.
* Why do they choose only a handful of these species, such as river red gum, manna gum, swamp gum?
* How do they know which leaves they can eat? Especially when the leaves of these trees are toxic for other creatures? (Note: a eucalyptus plant is toxic to dogs and cats.) Key is how specialized their teeth and digestive system are to their survival.
Between sleeping and eating, koalas are “an almost entirely arboreal animal.” Why it’s highly unlikely to spot them in the wild. Perched high up in these trees, they find safety away from predators on the ground. When they do climb down its nightfall, when most people aren’t searching for them.
We learn that two-thirds of Australia’s mammals are marsupials, more than anywhere else in the world. Like the kangaroo, koalas have outside pouches for carrying and nurturing their babies called joeys – the difference between marsupials versus mammals. But their “remarkable” and complex digestive system puts them in a class of their own. So you’re not likely to see koalas in a zoo elsewhere in the world. Feeding them their select types of gum tree leaves, fresh, makes them the most expensive animal to care for and thrive outside their native forests. The San Diego Zoo is a leading exception. If you have time, you can watch them on the zoo’s live cam:
https://zoo.sandiegozoo.org/cams/koal...
Many frown upon anthropomorphizing animals, but Clode’s discussion on how the joeys cling to their mothers and how their sense of touch is critical to survival is relatable and heartwarming. Koala fingerprints are unique like ours too. And like us, the tips of their fingers have a purpose: to make them more sensitive when they touch things. Are fingertips “as important to koala evolution as it has been to our own”? the author asks.
Wanting to understand “what’s it like to sit at the top of a tree – to see the world from a koala’s perspective –” Clode makes us wish we too could climb trees. She posits they’re able to spend so much time on their “rump” because they don’t have tails and the skin on their behinds is “extremely tough” with “particularly thick” fur. A “comfortable cushion.”
In dedicating her book to all people who care deeply about the environment and wildlife, climate change a thread and threat throughout, Clode shows herself to be a wonderfully observant nature writer, a dogged researcher (includes twenty pages of detailed resources), historian of evolution, and a passionate activist. It helps that we see koalas as “cute and cuddly,” though their claws act like razors.
Startling is an estimate that only 60,000 koalas remain, which led last year to their joining the growing list of Endangered Species. Ten years ago, koalas were classified as “vulnerable.” Despite Australia’s vastness, koalas are concentrated in only two regions in the country. Perhaps the continent’s size and species diversity is why they have the poorest record of preventing the extinction of mammalian species? Among the reasons Clode attributes to their dwindling population include agriculture and the timber industries; highly contagious “retroviruses” likened to HIV; and climate change, horrifically seen in increasingly catastrophic bushfires.
Danielle Clode lives in bushfire country. She wants us to care. About the fate of koalas, and what their story is telling us. About their need to “climb to freedom” – and ours.
Lorraine (EnchantedProse.com)
If you hadn’t seen the cover and title of Danielle Clode’s newest book, would you guess you’re from a species around for some 37 million years yet only abundantly studied over the last twenty or so years?
Koalas are iconic symbols of Australia. Surprisingly, very little is known about them. Danielle Clode, an Australian zoologist/biologist, wants to change that. “It amazes me a creature this iconic and distinctive to Australia is so mysterious.” Her husband says, “Maybe there’s not much to know.” Her reply, Koala: A Natural History and an Uncertain Future,” vividly shows “there is just a lot more to koala than meets the eye.”
In dedicating this unusual, beautifully told story, Clode confirms what the reader delightfully discovers: there’s something in this book everyone can enjoy and learn from. When Clode lays out a “perfect world” and fears of an “apocalyptic wasteland,” she’s not just speaking about koalas. “Quite literally,” she says, she’s standing up “to protect life as we know it.”
Singular might be one way to describe the author too. How often does someone spend their childhood education sailing around a continent, then attending college and winning a Rhodes scholarship to Oxford University, where she earned a doctorate in zoology? One might assume her curiosity to “tell the story of the koala” was instilled early on – seeing, experiencing a stunning and wild landscape of enormous, unique biodiversity. A word that encompasses all forms of life in a geographic region.
Clode, an award-winning, mostly nonfiction writer, did it the “hard way” to craft this captivating and quite accessible book combining creative and academic writing, which she teaches at Flinders University in Adelaide. The school states its commitment to the “Traditional Owners of Country” (numbering close to a million Aboriginal peoples), reflecting Clode’s respectful acknowledgements before and during – not after – Koala’s fascinating story unfolds.
Creating this book involved researching, visiting, interpreting, and integrating numerous fields of knowledge: “Botany, ecology, Indigenous knowledge, evolution, paleontology, anatomy, conservation biology, history, toxicology, psychology, veterinary and nutritional science, and animal behavior.”
Thanks to two American Presidents – Teddy Roosevelt and Herbert Hoover – koalas became popular and were saved back in the early 20th century. Teddy, the reason they’re called bears when they’re not. Hoover banned importing them for their soft and thick fur, leading Australia to bar exporting them so the killing stopped. Hoover provides an interesting example of the value of travel, appreciating koalas from his time gold mining in Western Australia.
This two-minute National Geographic video highlights some of the koala characteristics you’ll read about:
https://education.nationalgeographic....
Two pages of compelling novelistic prose preface each of the book’s six parts – Into the Woods, From Fossils to Bones, Life in the Forest, A Life in Reflection, Everything Changes, and Future Tense. For instance, the opening sentence begins with: “A cool breeze ruffled the koala’s fur, causing her to stir in her sleep.” Sleep as in twenty hours a day, which has given them a bad rap that they’re dumb.
A few questions Clode explores argues why they’re smarter than we might think:
* Why do koalas only eat specific types of leaves from one species of tree: Eucalypts? A designation referring to “800 or 900” types of gum trees.
* Why do they choose only a handful of these species, such as river red gum, manna gum, swamp gum?
* How do they know which leaves they can eat? Especially when the leaves of these trees are toxic for other creatures? (Note: a eucalyptus plant is toxic to dogs and cats.) Key is how specialized their teeth and digestive system are to their survival.
Between sleeping and eating, koalas are “an almost entirely arboreal animal.” Why it’s highly unlikely to spot them in the wild. Perched high up in these trees, they find safety away from predators on the ground. When they do climb down its nightfall, when most people aren’t searching for them.
We learn that two-thirds of Australia’s mammals are marsupials, more than anywhere else in the world. Like the kangaroo, koalas have outside pouches for carrying and nurturing their babies called joeys – the difference between marsupials versus mammals. But their “remarkable” and complex digestive system puts them in a class of their own. So you’re not likely to see koalas in a zoo elsewhere in the world. Feeding them their select types of gum tree leaves, fresh, makes them the most expensive animal to care for and thrive outside their native forests. The San Diego Zoo is a leading exception. If you have time, you can watch them on the zoo’s live cam:
https://zoo.sandiegozoo.org/cams/koal...
Many frown upon anthropomorphizing animals, but Clode’s discussion on how the joeys cling to their mothers and how their sense of touch is critical to survival is relatable and heartwarming. Koala fingerprints are unique like ours too. And like us, the tips of their fingers have a purpose: to make them more sensitive when they touch things. Are fingertips “as important to koala evolution as it has been to our own”? the author asks.
Wanting to understand “what’s it like to sit at the top of a tree – to see the world from a koala’s perspective –” Clode makes us wish we too could climb trees. She posits they’re able to spend so much time on their “rump” because they don’t have tails and the skin on their behinds is “extremely tough” with “particularly thick” fur. A “comfortable cushion.”
In dedicating her book to all people who care deeply about the environment and wildlife, climate change a thread and threat throughout, Clode shows herself to be a wonderfully observant nature writer, a dogged researcher (includes twenty pages of detailed resources), historian of evolution, and a passionate activist. It helps that we see koalas as “cute and cuddly,” though their claws act like razors.
Startling is an estimate that only 60,000 koalas remain, which led last year to their joining the growing list of Endangered Species. Ten years ago, koalas were classified as “vulnerable.” Despite Australia’s vastness, koalas are concentrated in only two regions in the country. Perhaps the continent’s size and species diversity is why they have the poorest record of preventing the extinction of mammalian species? Among the reasons Clode attributes to their dwindling population include agriculture and the timber industries; highly contagious “retroviruses” likened to HIV; and climate change, horrifically seen in increasingly catastrophic bushfires.
Danielle Clode lives in bushfire country. She wants us to care. About the fate of koalas, and what their story is telling us. About their need to “climb to freedom” – and ours.
Lorraine (EnchantedProse.com)
March 1, 2023
I knew koalas weren't the cute, cuddly "bears" many of us think them to be. I've heard biologists says it's a miracle they aren't extinct given the near-perfect environmental conditions they need to survive.
Shame on me for thinking I knew something about koalas. The book is a detailed, thoroughly-researched and heartfelt biography of theses strange marsupials that most of us only see in pictures as their finicky diet makes it difficult for them to live in zoos and few do outside of Australia.
The author trained as a scientist; in parts, the book reads like a report for a graduate course assignment. For the casual reader, some of the science gets pretty deep in the middle, and might keep you from making it through this book. I'd suggest you plow on as the last third of the book is the best.
Clode does a great job weaving the story of global warming and the accompanying environmental degradation it produces, with the fate of the koalas. They aren't necessarily canaries in the world's coalmine but they certainly are in Australia's. If Clode is correct, Australians who live in the drought- and fire-prone areas of the country will suffer as well as the koalas. Just by chance, those same areas are the same ones where most of the southern koalas live.
Clode reminds us that we need to save the environment for all species, large and small, invertebrate as well as mammalian, not just the cuddly koalas. However, as she illustrates, the world loves koalas even though they don't necessarily know much about them. Using them to sound the alarm about the general environmental peril is a masterstroke and nice twist ending for the reader.
Shame on me for thinking I knew something about koalas. The book is a detailed, thoroughly-researched and heartfelt biography of theses strange marsupials that most of us only see in pictures as their finicky diet makes it difficult for them to live in zoos and few do outside of Australia.
The author trained as a scientist; in parts, the book reads like a report for a graduate course assignment. For the casual reader, some of the science gets pretty deep in the middle, and might keep you from making it through this book. I'd suggest you plow on as the last third of the book is the best.
Clode does a great job weaving the story of global warming and the accompanying environmental degradation it produces, with the fate of the koalas. They aren't necessarily canaries in the world's coalmine but they certainly are in Australia's. If Clode is correct, Australians who live in the drought- and fire-prone areas of the country will suffer as well as the koalas. Just by chance, those same areas are the same ones where most of the southern koalas live.
Clode reminds us that we need to save the environment for all species, large and small, invertebrate as well as mammalian, not just the cuddly koalas. However, as she illustrates, the world loves koalas even though they don't necessarily know much about them. Using them to sound the alarm about the general environmental peril is a masterstroke and nice twist ending for the reader.
January 13, 2023
So much I didn't know about koalas. Wonderful book and great interview, Dr. Clode!
November 13, 2023
brilliant book, I learned so much!
March 14, 2024
I've pretty much loved all of Danielle Clode's work since reading Killers In Eden: The True Story of Killer Whales and their Remarkable Partnership with the Whalers of Twofold Bay. She works on some fascinating topics. Koala's deserve our attention.
I just wished I'd reviewed it closer to when I listened to it so I could do a better review. But I was getting quite ill at the time. So maybe I'll come back to it and read it in book format at some stage and do more justice to her work.
I just wished I'd reviewed it closer to when I listened to it so I could do a better review. But I was getting quite ill at the time. So maybe I'll come back to it and read it in book format at some stage and do more justice to her work.
March 11, 2024
Enjoyed this thoroughly researched book about Koalas. The author is a good storyteller and included many personal touches that made it more engaging. It took me a little bit of time to get into the book, and I wished there had been some more visuals / diagrams, like a comparison between southern and northern koalas, for example.
January 18, 2025
Interesting.
Read
April 18, 2023Famous marsupials that are endemic to Australia are koalas. Their floppy ears, unique nose, and laid-back attitude have made them renowned. In order to get the nutrition, water, and energy they need, koalas, who are herbivores, nearly exclusively rely on eucalyptus leaves.
The majority of Australia's koala population lives in eucalyptus forests and woods along the country's eastern coast. The dominant males and females live in overlapping home ranges, and they are gregarious creatures with a complex social structure. Koalas use a range of vocalisations, such as bellows, snores, and grunts, to communicate with one another.
Unfortunately, koalas are in danger of dying out due to habitat loss, illness, and climate change. Urbanisation and deforestation have significantly reduced their natural habitats, which has caused a severe drop in
The majority of Australia's koala population lives in eucalyptus forests and woods along the country's eastern coast. The dominant males and females live in overlapping home ranges, and they are gregarious creatures with a complex social structure. Koalas use a range of vocalisations, such as bellows, snores, and grunts, to communicate with one another.
Unfortunately, koalas are in danger of dying out due to habitat loss, illness, and climate change. Urbanisation and deforestation have significantly reduced their natural habitats, which has caused a severe drop in
Read
September 25, 2024It’s been 3 months since I finished this charming book, and I still look up in awe at the huge gums around my city, and the habitat they provide (mostly for possums and bats in my area). my old stomping ground linear park even gets a mention 🥹 my main takeaway from the book was how misunderstood the koala is. while many perceive the koala as nothing more than a cuddly aussie token, clode unpacks the complexity of the koala, from their unique finger prints containing mechanoreceptive dermatoglyphs to aid tree navigation, the commensal relationship they share with eucalyptus, their fascinating evolutionary history (it never occurred to me that tree dwelling animals are less likely to be fossilised, which impacts our knowledge base) and the fragile future lying ahead for koalas and the broader natural world in the face of climate change.
favs:
• sacral dermal shield
• more wolverine than drop bear
• syndactylus conjoined fingers
• koalas are the only species other than humans, chimpanzees and gorillas, to have fingerprints
• koala prints are so similar to human prints they would be included in evidence found at a crime scene
• dermatoglyphs = tiny dermal ridges that form finger prints
• finger prints aid touch with mechanoreceptors
•eucalyptus platypus = koala’s favourite leaves
• koala’s can eat wattle and pine needles
• koala’s often eat pine needles on french island due to over crowding
• camels and cows have similar teeth, similar strong evolutionary pressures
• guinea pig babies grind their teeth in their sleep so their teeth are ready to use straight from birth
• through the feminisation of biology, research of koala behaviour has shifted from females passively accepting attention of dominant males, to also recognise mate choice by females, parental care and importance of foraging and nutritional demands during lactation
• bifocated penis
• spontaneous ovulation
• male thrusts exactly 42 times before ejaculating
• usually 1 dose of adult poo is enough to give whatever microbes that are missing to get stomach back in order
• complex cognitive spatial mapping
• avoiding trees that smell of other koalas
• greet with gentle nose bumps
• neocortex → rational conscious brain responsible for learning, interacting and making intricate interpretations
• tetrachromatic colour
• touch is the sense we rely on when all the world goes dark
• children born without touch do not thrive
• bergmann’s rule
• the name “koala” is often thought to be an indigenous word for “no drink”
• ocean breaking through bay entrance of port phillip bay was recorded in Indigenous stories
favs:
• sacral dermal shield
• more wolverine than drop bear
• syndactylus conjoined fingers
• koalas are the only species other than humans, chimpanzees and gorillas, to have fingerprints
• koala prints are so similar to human prints they would be included in evidence found at a crime scene
• dermatoglyphs = tiny dermal ridges that form finger prints
• finger prints aid touch with mechanoreceptors
•eucalyptus platypus = koala’s favourite leaves
• koala’s can eat wattle and pine needles
• koala’s often eat pine needles on french island due to over crowding
• camels and cows have similar teeth, similar strong evolutionary pressures
• guinea pig babies grind their teeth in their sleep so their teeth are ready to use straight from birth
• through the feminisation of biology, research of koala behaviour has shifted from females passively accepting attention of dominant males, to also recognise mate choice by females, parental care and importance of foraging and nutritional demands during lactation
• bifocated penis
• spontaneous ovulation
• male thrusts exactly 42 times before ejaculating
• usually 1 dose of adult poo is enough to give whatever microbes that are missing to get stomach back in order
• complex cognitive spatial mapping
• avoiding trees that smell of other koalas
• greet with gentle nose bumps
• neocortex → rational conscious brain responsible for learning, interacting and making intricate interpretations
• tetrachromatic colour
• touch is the sense we rely on when all the world goes dark
• children born without touch do not thrive
• bergmann’s rule
• the name “koala” is often thought to be an indigenous word for “no drink”
• ocean breaking through bay entrance of port phillip bay was recorded in Indigenous stories
November 11, 2023
Loved this. Learned so much. As someone who lived in Australia for 2 years, it felt nostalgic to hear some of the names of my old stomping grounds as well as learn more about the beloved animal I grew to love so much while I was there. The history of the koala, and how the environment shaped the population, as well as human interference sadly .. fascinating! This was an easy yet informative read. Recommend to anyone who loves Australia, or these furry friends :)
May 12, 2023
4.5 stars. Early not quite prehistoric koala is finding new territory to live in (in square text boxes at beginning of each chapter/section) then the research NF part of the book
Drop bear myth perhaps comes from prehistoric gigantic koalas or marsupial lion - didn’t hear anything about this on trip even tho it’s a joke for tourists.
No other landmass in world is dominated by marsupials than Australia
Need to stop looking for reflections of ourselves in other animals. There’s more than one way to be ‘smart’ pg 140/40%. This could be true for every animal.
Everything you want to know about koalas that you’d ever think to ask. Comprehensive bibliography - too bad there weren’t hyper links (not that those are good on kindle vs the app on computer or phone) especially for the videos. Minus a half star for the lack of photos. Easy to read for this not NF reader especially for books written to adults.
Drop bear myth perhaps comes from prehistoric gigantic koalas or marsupial lion - didn’t hear anything about this on trip even tho it’s a joke for tourists.
No other landmass in world is dominated by marsupials than Australia
Need to stop looking for reflections of ourselves in other animals. There’s more than one way to be ‘smart’ pg 140/40%. This could be true for every animal.
Everything you want to know about koalas that you’d ever think to ask. Comprehensive bibliography - too bad there weren’t hyper links (not that those are good on kindle vs the app on computer or phone) especially for the videos. Minus a half star for the lack of photos. Easy to read for this not NF reader especially for books written to adults.
June 22, 2023
I wasn't sure if this was going to be a readable book or too much on the boring, sciency side, but instead it was very readable, even for the non-science person and has many wonderful stories, Australian history, and yes, some Koala science. But, if you wanted to know about Koalas, this is the book to get you started, everything from their start to their current situation, from ecology, biology, and more, including their gut biology and cuddliness - or lack thereof (which for the most part is a fake) and their rivalry with that ever-dangerous teddy bear. A great book for both teens and adults, and hopefully will make you think more about Aussie's cute emblem and hopefully make you realise how wonderful and precious they are.
October 9, 2023
As an ecologist who works throughout the Northern Rivers area, promoting Koala habitat and food tree planting, I was enamoured by this book. The various key concepts discussed and explored through each chapter in this novel were not only presented in an interesting and insightful way, but also beautifully communicated. Through each of the different parts of the book, the author's wealth of knowledge and understanding of Australia's iconic species is keenly portrayed.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the fascinating evolutionary past of Koalas, the relationships between Koalas and the indigenous Australian people and, those who just want to know more about these adorable fluffy friends.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the fascinating evolutionary past of Koalas, the relationships between Koalas and the indigenous Australian people and, those who just want to know more about these adorable fluffy friends.
August 23, 2023
Lots of information about koalas, including prehistoric versions (who knew there were giant koalas in the distant past?) and the challenges facing their survival today. Along the way, the reader learns a lot about koala physiology and biology, why they appeal so much to humans (the direct gaze and outstreached arms of a tree climber speak to our own evolution), and a tiny bit of how koalas might think and look at the world. The author is a biologist and native Australian and has written many books.
March 18, 2023
A well written and informative book about the realities of being the cute "Australian Teddy Bear." I thoroughly enjoy reading books heavy on scientific studies and names, which Danielle does a fantastic job in this book. The input from the Indigenous peoples, and how their cultural/beliefs systems intertwined with Koalas was amazing to learn. If you're a fan of these deceptively adorable bears marsupials I highly recommend you read this!
September 14, 2023
This is a beautiful look at one of our most beloved marsupials, the koala.
Published in 2022, the author includes the bushfire of Black (2019-2020) and the devastation they caused not only to the koala population but to the country and wildlife in general.
The book isn't full of science but includes enough so the layman doesn't feel overwhelmed.
Published in 2022, the author includes the bushfire of Black (2019-2020) and the devastation they caused not only to the koala population but to the country and wildlife in general.
The book isn't full of science but includes enough so the layman doesn't feel overwhelmed.
June 12, 2023
If you want a solid understanding of koalas I highly recommend this book. There are a lot of reasons why koalas struggle in our modern world but they have always had there struggles. A lot of good information that you do not need to be a science nerd like me to enjoy.
March 5, 2023
Loved the little POV story of the koala
April 17, 2023
Goes through the history of Koalas, I found the aspects around climate change/hunting to be interesting/infuriating
April 27, 2023
I enjoyed this book. I didn’t know much about Koala’s before I read this, but I was always fascinated by these little creatures.
May 7, 2023
An interesting book about koalas and how climate change and societal factors are irreversibly changing their natural history. I did find myself getting bored about halfway through, though.
October 15, 2023
Great comprehensive book about koalas. Inspired to go to some of the spots mentioned in the book!
August 7, 2024
Koala: A Natural History and an Uncertain Future by Danielle Clode is a fantastic nature book about the history, biology, and future of the koala. Clode dispels myths (no, they don't have abnormally small brains) and raises fascinating questions (is it smart or stupid to conserve energy for 20 hours a day? how many other animals know to ask humans for help? is it really an evolutionary failure to only need what's in your tree to survive?). Yes, as you all know, I love koalas, but I still say with certainty that this is a well-researched, readable book about an animal we don't actually know much about, yet have mythologized intensely.
Koalas existed 100k years before people did; they were decimated by colonization and all that followed, but narrowly survived (perhaps thanks to the intervention of one nature-loving man); now, myths of them as disease-ridden, stupid, silly, useless creatures abound, when actually they are fascinating, un-studied, curious, social, and intelligent creatures. Clode combines philosophy and history to write a compelling book about koalas that establishes them as incredible creatures (who might be imminently at risk from climate change and its impact).
She tracks the evolution and history of koalas, and analyzes why we've been so quick to dismiss them as creatures of interest over the decades, while bringing in Dreamtime (Aboriginal) stories to illustrate the koala's place in Australian habitats. She's a superb researcher in that she knows the right questions to ask, goes to the experts to get her answers, and thinks something through, from its hypothesis to its answers to its remaining questions. Compelling, scientific and rich but still intensely readable.
Koalas existed 100k years before people did; they were decimated by colonization and all that followed, but narrowly survived (perhaps thanks to the intervention of one nature-loving man); now, myths of them as disease-ridden, stupid, silly, useless creatures abound, when actually they are fascinating, un-studied, curious, social, and intelligent creatures. Clode combines philosophy and history to write a compelling book about koalas that establishes them as incredible creatures (who might be imminently at risk from climate change and its impact).
She tracks the evolution and history of koalas, and analyzes why we've been so quick to dismiss them as creatures of interest over the decades, while bringing in Dreamtime (Aboriginal) stories to illustrate the koala's place in Australian habitats. She's a superb researcher in that she knows the right questions to ask, goes to the experts to get her answers, and thinks something through, from its hypothesis to its answers to its remaining questions. Compelling, scientific and rich but still intensely readable.
March 23, 2023
Before reading Koala I had seen somewhere that Koalas were bad tempered. And I also thought they smelled bad. Both of those ideas I had about Koalas were wrong.
And one other thing that confused me was that I am in the northern hemisphere. When Danielle talks about Northern koalas being smaller than southern ones had me confused. She said that animals in warmer climates are usually smaller than animals in colder climates.
I thought what how can northern koalas be smaller when then are in colder climates. Then it dawned on me that Australia is in the southern hemisphere and that northern is closer to the equator and warmer while south is closer to the south pole and colder.
One thing that surprised me about Koalas is that they eat mostly eucalyptus trees. I had never thought about what might eat a eucalyptus tree. Also I never knew that eucalyptus trees were so poisonous.
And another thing that I was surprised about is that Koalas are so expensive to keep in captivity. I never would have thought that.
Koala is filled with interesting facts about Koalas and marsupials. In one chapter Danielle talks about the similarities between Marsupials and Placental animals. I also learned that north Americas marsupial is the Virginia opossum. I never knew that North America had a native marsupial. Now I do.
Danielle talks about the fossils of koalas that have been found, she looks at why they might sleep so much, the impact of fires in Australia on Koalas, where Koalas have lived in the past and live now, and in Koala.
Now that I have read Koala I know a lot more about Koalas that I used to and I am glad about that. They are a very interesting animal.
And one other thing that confused me was that I am in the northern hemisphere. When Danielle talks about Northern koalas being smaller than southern ones had me confused. She said that animals in warmer climates are usually smaller than animals in colder climates.
I thought what how can northern koalas be smaller when then are in colder climates. Then it dawned on me that Australia is in the southern hemisphere and that northern is closer to the equator and warmer while south is closer to the south pole and colder.
One thing that surprised me about Koalas is that they eat mostly eucalyptus trees. I had never thought about what might eat a eucalyptus tree. Also I never knew that eucalyptus trees were so poisonous.
And another thing that I was surprised about is that Koalas are so expensive to keep in captivity. I never would have thought that.
Koala is filled with interesting facts about Koalas and marsupials. In one chapter Danielle talks about the similarities between Marsupials and Placental animals. I also learned that north Americas marsupial is the Virginia opossum. I never knew that North America had a native marsupial. Now I do.
Danielle talks about the fossils of koalas that have been found, she looks at why they might sleep so much, the impact of fires in Australia on Koalas, where Koalas have lived in the past and live now, and in Koala.
Now that I have read Koala I know a lot more about Koalas that I used to and I am glad about that. They are a very interesting animal.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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