Mammals That Can Survive on a Diet of Eucalyptus Leaves
Eucalyptus trees, or gum trees as they are otherwise known, are a species of evergreen tree found in Australia and Tasmania and their outlying islands. With more than 500 species, the abundance of these trees would make them seem like an ideal food source. Yet the toxicity of their leaves dramatically reduces the number of native marsupials that can survive on them.
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Koala
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Because koalas eat mostly eucalyptus leaves, they tend to smell like cough drops. Mostly nocturnal, koalas are awake for only about six hours a day. They spend their waking and sleeping lives clinging to the branches of eucalyptus trees with their sharp claws. In their waking hours, koalas eat about 2 and a half pounds of eucalyptus leaves each day. Koalas have specialized intestines known as "a long gut." Their extra-long intestines contain special bacteria that help to break down the eucalyptus leaves and their toxins. Because they don't often leave the trees, koalas get their water from the eucalyptus leaves as well.
Common Wombat
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Common wombats are about 40 inches long and weigh an average of 55 pounds. Common wombats are ground-dwelling marsupials most closely related to the koala. They dig long tunnels under eucalyptus forests and like to live alone in their burrows. They have a low metabolism and a long gut that allows them to survive on their high-fiber diet of bark, roots and leaves. Nocturnal in nature, common wombats graze between three and eight hours per night. Because they live on the forest floor, wombats forage for food and enjoy the young leaves and sprouts of eucalyptus trees.
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Greater Glider
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Greater gliders are small marsupials that have a membrane that extends from their elbow to their ankle, allowing them to glide through the canopy of eucalyptus forests. Although they are gliders, they are actually more closely related to the common ring-tail possum. They are approximately 16 inches in length and share the same modified intestinal tract as the koala and common wombat. The specialized bacteria in their intestines help to ferment the leaves and turn them into usable nutrients.
Common Ring-tail Possum
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Common ring-tail possums are arboreal, or tree-living, marsupials that live in eucalyptus forests. They have prehensile tails that they can use to hold onto tree branches while they collect materials to build the nests where they sleep during the day. Common ring-tail possums have adapted intestines that contain bacteria to allow them to digest the toxic leaves of eucalyptus trees. Once a day they pass the bacteria through their system and eat it, allowing them to "recycle" the bacteria and re-digest the leaves and get more nutrients from food they have already eaten.
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