Chapter 184: Chapter 750: The Sleepy Koala
Fang Ye greeted the koala, "Hello?"
He gently petted the koala's head, but the koala didn't respond!
You pet me, I'll keep sleeping!
"This one is really sleeping soundly, completely oblivious to everything around it!"
"When I was in middle school, I stayed up late reading novels. During class, I would sleep just like this, even when my deskmate tried to shake me awake when the teacher came..."
"How can it survive in the wild with no vigilance at all?"
Fang Ye laughed, "Koalas can sleep up to 20 hours a day. They look slow and sluggish, and this is actually related to their diet!
Their food is eucalyptus leaves, which are fibrous and hard to digest. Once ingested, it can take a koala 100 hours or more to digest!
Eucalyptus leaves provide little energy and contain toxins, so after eating, koalas spend a long time sleeping to conserve energy and digest food.
Despite these drawbacks, eucalyptus leaves are rich in water, so koalas generally don't need to drink water.
In Australia, there are no large carnivores that can climb trees, and no other animals compete with them for the toxic and hard-to-digest eucalyptus leaves. This has allowed koalas to thrive, making it their unique survival strategy!
In nature, it's not the strongest that survive, but the ones best adapted to their environment."
"No wonder they sleep so deeply, they're actually poisoned!"
"Last time I went to the zoo to see the koalas, they didn't move at all. I thought they were fake!"
"After digesting their food, they eat for a few hours and then sleep again to detoxify. Their day is spent eating and sleeping! It's kind of pitiful when you think about it!"
"I actually envy them. Isn't that a comfortable life? Food when you open your eyes, then sleep after eating. No need to wake up early to squeeze onto the subway or stay up late working overtime."
"As long as I'm cute enough, no one can call me lazy!"
"Do they eat anything other than eucalyptus leaves?"
"Nothing else, they're very picky eaters!"
Fang Ye pinched the koala's fluffy ears!
The koala seemed to react, its big ears flapping, and it opened its eyes to look at him.
The viewers held their breath, thinking, "Oh, is it going to wake up and move around?"
But no!
It lowered its arms to hug the tree trunk, rested its face on the trunk, and continued sleeping in a different position.
"Aw~"
Disappointed, the viewers sighed.
"When will it come down and move around?"
Fang Ye said, "For it to come down, it has to finish eating all the leaves on this eucalyptus tree!
Because eucalyptus leaves provide little energy, they move within a very small range, making them the ultimate homebodies.
So when wildfires occur, koalas, even if they sense danger, can't run fast. The energy from eucalyptus leaves can't sustain a long run, so they end up getting burned to death."
A few years ago, Australia's wildfires were devastating, and the most regrettable loss was the koalas. Many were burned to death, changing their status from not endangered to vulnerable.
However, koalas have no natural predators, so as long as their environment doesn't deteriorate, they can naturally recover over some years.
Leaving the sleeping koala, Fang Ye went to find another one.
They had introduced three koalas, but one was left behind for observation due to discomfort before shipping.
This koala, being watched, woke up groggily!
It blinked its eyes, saw Fang Ye waving, and perhaps sensing his friendly aura, it reached out a paw, trying to jump from the tree trunk to the horizontal perch.
But the perch was a bit far!
Its front paws barely grabbed the perch, then it let go of the tree trunk with its feet, hanging below the perch, its body swaying!
Its round body swayed back and forth, looking quite adorable.
After a couple of swings, it lifted its legs and clumsily climbed onto the perch, like a student sneaking out of class.
It then hopped a few steps towards Fang Ye.
Clinging to Fang Ye's shoulder, it wrapped its legs around him, hanging onto him!
Fang Ye supported its bottom with one hand—though it wasn't necessary, as koalas have a strong grip, hanging onto trees is their specialty.
He laughed happily, "Good kid! Do you like playing with me?"
He gently kissed the koala's cheek!
"Wow, it's quite agile!"
"Haha, those few hops might be its exercise for the day!"
"Seems like every animal loves the director, koalas included!"
Fang Ye took the koala down and held it in his arms.
The koala, held by Fang Ye, gently swayed its paws, its round eyes looking innocently ahead!
Its body was covered in short, fluffy fur, very cute, though the fur on its ears was a bit scruffy.
Fang Ye's hand passed under its armpit, gently rubbing its white belly, while the koala's gray paws rested on his hand, allowing him to pet it, its eyes closing in enjoyment.
So comfortable, really comfortable~
Fang Ye smiled, "Koalas are really comfortable to touch! The fur on their bottoms is particularly thick, since they spend most of their time sitting on tree forks sleeping. It feels like touching a carpet, while the fur on other parts of their body is softer and finer!"
"I also want to hold a koala and pet it, waah!"
"Let go of that koala and let me have a turn!"
"Boohoo, I'm not jealous at all /lemon /lemon"
"Where is the koala's pouch? I didn't see it?"
"Is this a male?"
Fang Ye said, "This one is a female! Male koalas are larger, have a more prominent nose, and a noticeable scent gland on their chest.
Her pouch is here. Koala pouches open downward, which is quite rare, but don't worry about the baby falling out. The muscles work like elastic bands, keeping the pouch tightly closed, only opening when needed."
He pointed to the area under her belly, signaling the camera to zoom in.
Sure enough, the pouch opening was visible, but the koala seemed a bit shy and swatted Fang Ye's hand away.
"Hehe."
Fang Ye petted the koala's head, giving her a little massage, and she closed her eyes again in contentment.
A curious viewer asked, "Director, I've heard that baby koalas eat poop to grow up, is that true?"
Fang Ye replied, "Yes, it's true! Baby koalas can't digest the toxins in eucalyptus leaves, so during the transition from nursing to eating eucalyptus leaves, around five or six months old, the mother produces a type of soft feces, like a liquid meal, containing special bacteria from the mother's digestive tract.
Eating dumplings or noodles is best with the original soup, and the same goes for eating poop.
The downward-facing pouch also makes it easier for the baby to eat the mother's feces! The baby licks the mother's bottom, and the mother defecates, allowing the baby to feed, a very harmonious process.
After eating the feces for a while, the baby gains the ability to digest eucalyptus leaves."
"Gross, that sounds disgusting!"
"Ew, I'm going to puke!"
"I just put down the half-eaten chocolate..."
"Could you not compare it to the original soup and food! /laughing and crying"
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