Koala: The stupidity of this animal is beyond belief (10 photos)

The koala could be the only marsupial ape of its kind. It's perfectly adapted to life in trees and has two opposable toes—perfect for tool making. And there are simply no other contenders for this title in Australia. But, unfortunately, it has one problem: it's incredibly stupid.





The koala's brain size is a whopping 60% smaller than that of other marsupials, and they're not exactly known for their intelligence. Furthermore, its brain is as smooth as a polished pebble. The cerebral cortex is underdeveloped, and there are no convolutions at all. As if that weren't enough, the koala is the only animal whose brain dangles from its skull, not filling it completely.



Such a strange brain.

And such poor brain characteristics lead to poor intellectual abilities. For example, koalas don't always realize that plucked eucalyptus leaves are just as edible as those growing on a tree. Therefore, they won't even feed from your hand. They often forget which tree they came from and can spend half an hour or an hour trying to find a familiar trunk and return.





I hung up a camera to record my movements and avoid getting lost. Smart!

They're also not very smart about social interactions. The most they can do is care for their young in the first six months after birth. Otherwise, koalas live alone and avoid contact with each other outside of mating season. After all, communication is too complex for their meager brains. And their stupidity is incurable. It's a consequence of their diet.



— Mom, I love you so much! — I love you too! Remind me, who are you?



Everything is fine with vegetarianism... I just sleep a lot and I've forgotten how to count!

I'm sure you know perfectly well that koalas eat exclusively eucalyptus leaves, which are not only low in calories but also have very few nutrients. But they're also toxic, as essential oils and their metabolites (breakdown products in the body) are extremely dangerous to health in large quantities. Therefore, the koala's liver has to expend a huge amount of resources producing detoxifying enzymes.



Yesterday I ate eucalyptus. Today I ate eucalyptus. Tomorrow I'll eat eucalyptus. Life is good!

And although the animal copes, its body's resources are very limited. To survive on such a diet, the koala not only reduced its brain size but also significantly slowed its metabolism. It's about 50% slower than that of the average mammal. The koala is so weak that it is forced to sleep for 20 hours a day, fortunately its digestive system continues to extract tiny amounts of calories from leaves even while its owner is napping.



Once it's eaten, it's time to sleep.

This raises the question: how is it that such a stupid and slow animal hasn't yet become extinct? Because no one wants it. The koala has no rivals for food and no natural enemies. Yes, catching one is incredibly easy, but its meat, soaked in essential oils, is unpleasant to the taste, so predators choose other prey.



A wet koala looks even cuter.

And yet, the koala is on the brink of extinction. Habitat destruction has severely undermined its numbers and the species' ability to recover. And the 2019-2020 Australian fires caused monstrous damage. Around 18 million hectares of forest burned across the continent, killing up to 1 billion vertebrates. While many had a chance to escape, the slow-witted and slow-moving koalas perished along with their eucalyptus trees, clinging to their branches with their toes until the very end.



In the ashes.



This koala was lucky; it survived the fire and was taken in by people.

Australian scientists are doing everything they can to save koalas, but their chances are slim. Koalas are not doomed, but they are in a dire situation. Their fate depends directly on whether Australia stops the deforestation of eucalyptus forests and controls the bushfires.