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Koala : a natural history and an uncertain future / Danielle Clode.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York, NY : W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2023Copyright date: ©2023Edition: First American editionDescription: 322 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781324036838
  • 1324036834
Other title:
  • Natural history and an uncertain future
Subject(s):
Contents:
Into the woods. Koalas rare and plenty -- From fossils and bones. Dropbears in the family ; The Lakes District ; From the gulf to the sea ; A giant at the foot of the world -- Life in the forest. Anatomy of a climber ; The eucalypt empire ; You are what you eat ; The guts of the problem -- A life in reflection. From pouch to piggyback ; Sociable loners ; When it's smart to be slow ; Sensory overload -- Everything changes. Koalas far and wide ; A new arrival ; The English annexation ; War and guns ; Saving the koala -- Future tense. Sex, disease, and genetic diversity ; Expansion and retreat ; Under fire ; In a perfect world.
Summary: "A biologist takes us into the still mysterious world of koalas, from their marsupial ancestors to current threats to their existence. Koalas are one of the most beloved animals, but despite their celebrity, we are just learning much about their nature and history. Blending evolutionary biology, natural history, and ecology, biologist Danielle Clode tells us the story of these amazing marsupials. She looks at fossils of ancestral giant koalas three times modern koalas' size and explains why they are the lone survivor of a once diverse family tree. Clode investigates their nature-often affectionate but can also be belligerent-and their physiology-from their pouches to their gut bacteria, which can only digest leaves of the species of gum tree they were raised on. She also warns about the danger koalas have been in as humans have impinged on their habitats through land clearance and urban development. Now, Australia's explosive wildfires threaten them each summer, killing and harming them as never before. Clode takes us close to these extraordinary creatures and speaks to why and how we need to save them"-- Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 599.25 C643 Available 33111010973515
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Koalas regularly appeared in Australian biologist Danielle Clode's backyard, but it was only when a bushfire threatened that she truly paid them attention. She soon realized how much she had to learn about these complex and mysterious animals.

In vivid, descriptive prose, Clode embarks on a delightful and surprising journey through evolutionary biology, natural history, and ecology to understand where these enigmatic animals came from and what their future may hold. She begins her search with the fossils of ancient giant koalas, delving into why the modern koala has become the lone survivor of a once-diverse family of uniquely Australian marsupials.

Koala investigates the remarkable physiology of these charismatic creatures. Born the size of tiny "jellybeans," joeys face an uphill battle, from crawling into their mother's pouch to being weaned onto a toxic diet of gum-tree leaves, the koalas' single source of food.

Clode explores the complex relationship and unexpected connections between this endearing species and humans. She explains how koalas are simultaneously threatened with extinction in some areas due to disease, climate change, and increasing wildfires, while overpopulating forests in other parts of the country.

Deeply researched and filled with wonder, Koala is both a tender and inquisitive paean to a species unlike any other and a call to ensure its survival.

"First published in Australia in 2022 as Koala: A Life in Trees by Black Inc., an imprint of Schwartz Books Pty Ltd."

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Into the woods. Koalas rare and plenty -- From fossils and bones. Dropbears in the family ; The Lakes District ; From the gulf to the sea ; A giant at the foot of the world -- Life in the forest. Anatomy of a climber ; The eucalypt empire ; You are what you eat ; The guts of the problem -- A life in reflection. From pouch to piggyback ; Sociable loners ; When it's smart to be slow ; Sensory overload -- Everything changes. Koalas far and wide ; A new arrival ; The English annexation ; War and guns ; Saving the koala -- Future tense. Sex, disease, and genetic diversity ; Expansion and retreat ; Under fire ; In a perfect world.

"A biologist takes us into the still mysterious world of koalas, from their marsupial ancestors to current threats to their existence. Koalas are one of the most beloved animals, but despite their celebrity, we are just learning much about their nature and history. Blending evolutionary biology, natural history, and ecology, biologist Danielle Clode tells us the story of these amazing marsupials. She looks at fossils of ancestral giant koalas three times modern koalas' size and explains why they are the lone survivor of a once diverse family tree. Clode investigates their nature-often affectionate but can also be belligerent-and their physiology-from their pouches to their gut bacteria, which can only digest leaves of the species of gum tree they were raised on. She also warns about the danger koalas have been in as humans have impinged on their habitats through land clearance and urban development. Now, Australia's explosive wildfires threaten them each summer, killing and harming them as never before. Clode takes us close to these extraordinary creatures and speaks to why and how we need to save them"-- Provided by publisher.

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