Happy National Wild Koala Day if you’re reading this on 3rd May! If you’re reading this any other day, it’s still a great day to support the koalas and we’ll let you know how you can support these cute little fuzz balls and enjoy chocolate in just a moment. But first, we’d like to tell you all about National Wild Koala Day and the incredible global effort ensuring a safer environment for wild koalas in Australia.
What is National Wild Koala Day?
National Wild Koala Day is a global event that brings together wildlife activists, environmentalists and conservationists. The aim is to protect and preserve wild habitats for koalas throughout Australia.
Koalas are in the top 10 species in the world that are at most risk due to climate change. In 2020, the bushfires in Australia accentuated the need for an initiative to protect koalas and their natural habitats. Millions of koalas were impacted by the bushfires because their survival depends on thick eucalyptus forests that have nearly been destroyed!
Koalas have been on this planet for over 25 million years, and there is a real threat that they may go extinct in our lifetime! However, with global initiatives like National Koala Day, and another amazing initiative we’ll tell you about later, there are amazingly passionate and hardworking people making sure that doesn’t happen!
Australians celebrate the day by planting trees, implementing ways of preventing global warming and sharing unique and fun facts about koalas. So, keeping with this Aussie tradition, here are some facts about these friendly fuzz balls!
Some Fun Facts About Koalas
Did you know that koalas are part of the wombat family? And they have pouches for their young like a kangaroo! And that baby koalas are also called Joeys! Well, the fun facts about these fun furry friends don’t stop there! Here’s five more:
Koalas are good swimmers!
While they are often pictured clinging to a tree with their strong claws, they would look just at home with a swimming cap on while enjoying a few hours at the local leisure centre! As they have very strong muscles for climbing trees, the same muscles can be used to effortlessly cross a river to get to the best food in the forest!
They have super speed!
This one may seem quite surprising as koalas almost never use this speed. Much of the time, koalas seem very sluggish and slow, and they do this on purpose. They need to conserve energy as much as possible as their diet isn’t the most nutritious. However, when they absolutely need to, they can reach about 18 miles an hour!
They have opposable thumbs!
Koalas are just like us in many ways. They love sleeping and eating which many humans enjoy as hobbies too. However, they are among about 16 animals that also have opposable thumbs like humans. Their thumbs help them climb and cling to branches so they can enjoy eucalyptus all day long!
Koalas have magical butts!
Have you ever sat in a chair for a long time and gotten a numb bum? This wouldn’t happen to a koala. Its butt fur is so densely packed together that it acts like a cushion. So, they can sit all day long and be crazy comfortable! This is probably why koalas can sleep for 20 hours a day!
They’re still on the decline!
Despite conservation efforts, the koala population has plummeted drastically in the last decade. Estimates vary, but it’s thought there are between 100,000 and 500,000 koalas left in the wild. This is why supporting causes like National Wild Koala Day is so vital!
The WWF has a brilliant article with even more fascinating facts about koalas if you’d like to learn more. However, please keep reading to see how you can show your support for koalas and enjoy some chocolate at the same time!
How Can You Support the Koalas?
We have partnered with an amazing conservation organisation in Australia called Aussie Ark. They are striving to save loads of critically endangered wildlife in Australia. They are doing this by breeding animals in safe facilities, rewilding animals, protecting land from development and planting trees! Already, Aussie Ark has planted 48,000 trees, bringing back the natural habitat for thousands of wild animals including koalas.
The work that Aussie Ark does is nothing short of incredible, and Cocoba wants to help them achieve more! As a family-run company with Aussie heritage, we are so excited about this partnership. We’re also really excited to introduce you to Wawah the koala.
Wawah is made with 250g of 100% Belgian milk chocolate. They are a mouth-watering tasty treat that will help save wild koalas and their habitats. We’ll donate a percentage of every sale of every Wawah to Aussie Ark to help them continue doing their fantastic work! So, if you want to treat the koalas, why not treat yourself at the same time and pick up a cute and delicious koala?
With your help, we can change the future of wild koalas forever. We can help amazing organisations like Aussie Ark introduce koalas back into the wild, protect more land, plant more trees and build better habitats for koalas and thousands of other wild animals in Australia.
Whether you’re reading this on National Wild Koala Day or any other day of the year, do something amazing and help save endangered species and their habitats forever!
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