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   Now we know how koalas drink (we didn't before)

Social Sharing

   [106]Quirks & Quarks

Now we know how koalas drink (we didn't before)

   Koalas have been observed licking rainwater as it cascades down the
   smooth trunks of eucalyptus trees

Social Sharing

Koalas have been observed licking rainwater as it cascades down the smooth
trunks of eucalyptus trees

   CBC Radio · Posted: May 08, 2020 4:46 PM ET | Last Updated: May 8
   An adult female koala quenches her thirst on water cascading down a
   tree trunk. Researchers used hoses to duplicate the effects of rain and
   observe koalas drinking. (Valentina Mella)
   (BUTTON)
   comments
   Listen8:00

   One of the great mysteries surrounding one of Australia's  most iconic
   creatures - the koala - has been solved. Scientists now know how the
   charismatic marsupial is able to access enough water to survive.

   Researchers had long been puzzled about how koalas acquired enough
   water. A certain proportion of their water needs must have been
   satisfied by the moisture in the eucalyptus leaves they feed on.

   But koalas didn't seem to exploit any other source of waters. They were
   only rarely observed descending from their trees in search of water in
   waterholes, streams or puddles.

   A recent study led by [107]Valentina Mella, a researcher in the School
   of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Sydney has
   revealed that koalas drink by [108]licking water running down smooth
   tree trunks as it rains.

Thirsty marsupials

   Solving this mystery has not been easy because koalas are nocturnal and
   spend most of their time high up in tree tops.

   But from 2006 to last year, a total of 44 observations of koalas
   licking trees during rain, mostly by citizen scientists in two
   locations: the You Yangs Regional Park in Victoria and the Liverpool
   Plains in New South Wales.
   A thirsty koala eagerly licks the trunk of a eucalyptus tree in the
   rain. (Valentina Mella)

   One adult female, with a joey, was observed drinking profusely and
   uninterruptedly for 15 minutes. An adult male drank at a steady pace
   for 34 minutes. Because other sources of water were readily available
   in nearby locations, Mella believes that this method of licking tree
   trunks is how koalas prefer to drink naturally. It saves the Koalas the
   trouble — and risk — of descending from their trees.

Surviving drought and wildfire

   Recently, during Australia's severe drought, record temperatures and
   consequent wildfires, koalas have been approaching humans to drink out
   of water bottles in desperation. This is considered very unusual
   behaviour, and reflective of just how desperate for moisture the
   animals are.

   Mella is concerned that the lack of regular precipitation, as well as
   the loss of habitat, will have serious consequences for the koala in
   the future.

   Video of koala drinking from the University of Sydney

   IFRAME: [109]https://www.youtube.com/embed/PD0P7_-FZ8Q

More from this episode

     * [110]What the ice storm can teach us about the prenatal impacts of
       pandemic stress
     * [111]An unseen black hole has been lurking in our galactic
       neighbourhood
     * [112]Now we know how koalas drink (we didn't before)
     * Pathway to Mars
       How to build habitats on Mars and how to live in them
     * [113]FULL EPISODE: May 9: COVID stress and pregnancy, a black hole
       in our backyard and more…

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