Kola bears look so cute and cuddly, but many people don't know much about these adorable marsupials. If you want to impress your friends with epic knowledge, or just know more about these adorable creatures then this is the article for you. Here are five incredible things you probably never knew about kola bears.
1. They Are Closer To A Kangaroo Than A Bear
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Despite their name, kola bears do not have that much in common with bears. Bears are mammals whereas kola bears are marsupials. Other examples of marsupials include kangaroos, opossums, and wombats. WWF shares that marsupials are "a different group of mammals, where females have a special pouch (front-facing or backwards facing) for rearing their young." Additionally, kola bear young are also referred to as joeys and they climb inside of their mother's pouch to finish their development.
2. Kola Bears Are Good With Poison
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Next on the list of incredible things you probably didn't know about these marsupials is that their diet is deadly to other animals. Eucalyptus leaves are toxic and are often poisonous and fatal to most animals that ingest it. However, the kola bear digestive track is particularly good at tolerating the toxic leaves. They have special liver enzymes that help them break down the leaves that would upset other animals' digestion. Due to this special skill, their diet consists largely of these leaves.
3. They Have An Incredible Sense Of Smell
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These little guys really pack a punch when it comes to their sense of smell. Not only does it help them make better food choices, by differentiating toxin levels in eucalyptus leaves, but it also helps them notice other kola's scent markings. Furthermore, they can sniff out the most nutrient-rich foods for themselves, making them smart and selective feeders.
4. Kola Bears Need Their Beauty Sleep
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No wonder they are so adorable, they get a ton of beauty rest! While you or I may enjoy an hour long catnap, kola bears can easily rest for up to 18-20 hours a day. Considering there are only 24 hours in a day, sleeping for 18 to 20 of them seems insane to me. Experts believe that these animals need to sleep so much because they get very little energy from the leaves that they consume. Therefore, they need to conserve the limited energy they have by resting.
5. Their Fingerprints Are Almost Identical To Humans
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When thinking of the closest relatives to humans, or at least animals that have the most similarities to us, monkeys are often what first come to mind. However, kola bears have something unique in common with us as well, their fingerprints. Ripley's Believe It Or Not shared details on the similarities between the prints. They write, "The loops, the whirls, the fact that the patterns are completely unique to each individual koala... it's uncanny." They appear so similar that crime investigators have actually confused the two prints in the past.
So there you have it. These are five incredible things that you never knew about kola bears. If you enjoyed learning about these incredible animals you will definitely want to check out five amazing facts about elephants that you probably didn't know.
