How long does Koalas live? Age of the Koala

Koalas have a reasonable lifespan of around 12 to 15 years. In the wild, the average age of a koala is around 13 years while the maximum recorded age (in the wild) for the koalas is around 18 years. The average ages of the koalas may also vary on the basis of gender, geographic conditions and the availability of the food supplies as well.

The average age of a koala in the wild is 13 years. Female koalas (15 years) live longer than the male koalas (12 years).

For example; according to the records, the female koalas have the tendency to live more than the male koalas. The average age for the female koalas is around 15 years and for the male koalas is around 12 years. Therefore; the female koalas outlive the male koalas by the margin of at least 3 years on average in the wild.

Usually; the koalas in captivity live more than the koalas in the wild. Therefore; their average ages and the maximum ages in the captivity as compared to the wild may also vary. As mentioned earlier that the maximum age for the koala in the wild is recorded to be 18 years. But this may not be an all time maximum age for the koalas.

Koalas in captivity live more than the koalas in the wild. The all time highest recorded age for a koala is 21 years at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Australia.

In captivity the koalas often live for more than 18 years . There are some records which show koalas living for more than 18 years in the captivity. For example; the maximum recorded age for the koala in the captivity at the Lone Pine Koala sanctuary is 21 years which is 3 years more than the maximum recorded age of the koalas in the wild.

Geographic location, availability of the food resources, habitat loss and the droughts also make a big impact on the lifespan of the koalas. In the tougher scenarios only the fittest survives while during good times everyone thrives in terms of their lifespan.

The average ages of the koalas in Queensland region are less than the average ages of the koalas in Victorian region.

For example the average age of the koalas in the Queensland area is less than the average age of the koalas in the Victorian areas. Queensland areas have harsh environment for the koalas, therefore; only the fittest survives in those areas. Victorian areas have favorable environment for the koalas, therefore; every thrives in those areas and the average age is high for the Victorian koalas is high.

Interestingly; the early estimates (19th century) regarding the lifespan of the koalas were a lot less than the recent estimates. According to the earlier estimates, the koalas' lifespan was just 4 to 5 years on average. In those days; there were no profound level wild studies on the koalas in the wild and the ages were measured in captivity.

According to the early estimates (19th and 20th century), the average lifespan for the koalas was around 4 to 5 years which was wrong.

Whereas; in captivity koalas could only manage to live for 4 to 5 years because of inappropriate living conditions. Therefore; the early researchers estimated that the koalas live for around 4 to 5 years on maximum.

There is a big mystery about why the female koalas outlive the male koalas? Not much has been studied and established about it so far but what we do know so far is the life for the male koalas in the wild is a lot tougher as compared to the female koalas. The male koalas have to establish their own territory and often have to fight with the rivals or the dominant males.

Why male koalas life less than the female koalas? One key factor includes their lack of access to the best food supplies of Eucalyptus leaves because of territorial conflicts.

Consequently; not all of the male koalas have the best access to the food supplies because of the territorial conflicts while female koalas are tolerated by the dominant male koalas within their territories. Therefore; for the male koalas not having a good access to the better food supplies of Eucalyptus leaves might have a big impact on their marginally smaller lifespan as compared to the female koalas. However; there may be a lot more factors impacting their lifespan as well.

Lastly; if we compare the average lifespan of the koalas with the other animals in the animal kingdom, we will notice that it matches a lot of other animals as well. For example the average lifespan of a domestic cat and dog is around 10 to 15 years. In the wild the average lifespan of the lions and tigers is around 10 to 12 years.

The lifespan or the average age of the koalas is almost identical to the lifespan of the kangaroos, dogs, cats, lions and even tigers.

Similarly; among the marsupial animals the kangaroos also follow the same lifespan of around 10 to 12 years in the wild. Another marsupial, the Wombat lives for around 15 years. Therefore; the koalas lifespan is almost identical to majority of the animals within the animal kingdom.