动物科普：关于萌物考拉的10个事实

Although most people know that koalas live in Australia and eat eucalyptus leaves, there is so much more to know. Here's the lowdown on the marsupials from Down Under.

大部分人肯定都知道考拉生活在澳洲，吃桉树叶，但其他的呢？下面是关于这个萌物的其他信息。

1. Although they are commonly called koala "bears," koalas are marsupials and have nothing at all to do with bears, except that they are cute like a teddy bear.

尽管我们时常称考拉为“树袋熊”，其实考拉是有袋类哺乳动物，跟熊完全没关系，只是看起来萌萌的像泰迪熊罢了。

2. The word "koala" is thought to have come from the Aboriginal word meaning "no drink." Although koalas do drink water on occasion, most of their hydration requirements are fulfilled by the moisture they get from eating eucalyptus leaves.

“考拉”这一词据说源于原著居民语言，意思是”不喝水“。考拉有时也会喝水，但他们大部分的饮水需求都靠吃桉树叶吸收其中的水分来满足。

3. They eat about two and a half pounds of eucalyptus leaves a day; so many, in fact, that they take on the fragrance of the oil ... and end up smelling like cough drops.

他们一天要吃2.5磅桉树叶；会吸收油脂的香味，最后消化成类似止咳糖浆的味道。

4. A newborn koala is the size of a jellybean. Called a joey, it is a while before it reaches full-blown ridiculously cute status; joeys are born blind, earless and without fur.

新生考拉就跟橡皮糖那么大，人们叫它们幼兽。过不了多久就会长成你现在看到的大萌物般模样；考拉幼兽生下来是看不到的，没有耳朵和皮毛。

5. After birth, a momma koala will carry the jellybean baby in her pouch for about six months; after it emerges, the newborn clings to its mother's back or belly until it is around a year old.

出生之后，考拉妈妈会把橡皮糖大小的幼兽放在育儿袋里半年，等它长大到一岁左右前，幼兽一般都会攀附在妈妈的背上或肚子上。

6. Tucked into trees, koalas sleep for up to 18 hours during the day.

考拉们一般驻扎在树上，一天要睡多达18个小时。

7. Koalas may look soft and cuddly, but to the touch, not so much. They have a thick wooly fur that protects them from both heat and cold and also helps to repel water. In fact, their fur is the thickest of all marsupials.

考拉们看起来软软的萌萌的，但摸起来可不是这么回事。为了抵抗炎热和寒冬甚至防水，它们的皮毛非常坚硬。实际上，它们的皮毛算是有袋类动物中最厚的了。

8. In ideal conditions in the wild, male koalas live to about the age of 10; females may live a few years longer.

野外条件理想的情况下，成年雄性考拉能活到十岁，雌性活的还要久一点。

9. There were once millions of koalas, but the popularity of their sturdy fur resulted in massive hunting of them in the 1920s and '30s, leading to a major decline in their numbers.

地球上曾经有成百万只考拉，然而坚实的皮毛也成为20世纪二三十年代它们遭到疯狂捕杀的原因，结果造成数目急剧下降。

10. Habitat destruction, traffic deaths and attacks by dogs kill an estimated 4,000 koalas yearly; at this point, there are fewer than 100,000 koalas in the wild. Fortunately, there are many efforts being made to protect them.

居住环境破坏、交通事故或是被狗狗袭击，这些原因每年会造成大约4000只考拉死亡，因此目前仅存不到十万只考拉。好在我们已经采取很多措施来保护它们。