QUEENSLAND, Australia— A koala cub was caught on camera falling asleep in its mother’s pouch while perched on a branch.
The video was taken on May 9 at the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, home to over 50 koalas, in Queensland, Australia,
In the footage, the baby koala spends time on its mother’s lap while she eats some leaves. Later, the cub gets comfortable in its mother’s pouch and takes a nap.
The sanctuary posted the video on social media with the message: “Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mummas out there!”
Even though these cute creatures are often mistakenly called koala bears, they are actually marsupials, meaning they carry their young in their pouches.
The tree-residing creatures typically eat 500–1,000 grams of eucalyptus leaves a day. Australia is home to nearly 900 native eucalyptus types. Koalas use their sensitive noses to detect the 30 to 40 they prefer. Because their eucalyptus diet doesn’t provide them with very much energy, koalas usually spend up to 20 hours a day sleeping.
(Edited by Matthew B. Hall and Judith Isacoff)
