Koalas' Per Day Food Consumption

Koalas usually eat around 600 to 800 grams of fresh Eucalyptus leaves per day. However; this quantity of the Eucalyptus leaves is measured for the koalas who are around 10 kilograms in weight. Therefore; it is highly likely that the bigger koalas who weigh around 14 to 16 kilograms are expected to consume more amounts of the Eucalyptus foliage per day. The koala experts have taken another measure to understand per day food consumption of koalas and according to them, koalas usually eat as low as 14 grams and as high as 70 grams of leaves per kg of their bodies each day.

A moderate-sized koala weighing 10 kg in weight consumes around 600 to 800 grams of fresh Eucalyptus leaves per day.

Surprisingly; this per day diet which is a few grams in weight contains significant amount of poisons that are enough to kill a normal person or any other animal. Whereas; a koala weighing almost 10 kg in weight consumes more than 220 kilograms of Eucalyptus leaves in a single year.

Koalas Daily Food Consumption
600 to 800 Grams of Eucalyptus Leaves Bigger Koalas (Male Koalas)
May Consume More Eucalyptus Leaves Koalas' Food Requriement
70 Grams Eucalyptus Foliage Per KG Koalas' Per Year FOod Consumption
200 Kilograms of Eucalyptus Leaves

The food consumption of koalas is also dependent on the hot and cold weather as well. According to the koala experts, koalas usually eat more during the winter seasons than the summer seasons. The reason being their bodies need more energy to fight against the severe winters of Australia and for this purpose they need to eat more and more Eucalyptus leaves.

Koalas’ food consumption is also weather dependent as well. Koalas usually eat more during the winter season as compared to the summer seasons.

This may be specifically true for koalas which live within the southern regions of Australia such as Victoria and South Australia as these regions during the winter seasons are comparatively colder than the northern regions. In other scenarios, a Koala may occasionally eat more to quench their thirst in the hot summer weather because they are only dependent on Eucalyptus leaves to fulfill their water requirements.

Koalas Daily Food Consumption
Also Depends on Weather Koalas Eat More
During the Winter Season Koalas May Eat Less
During the Summer Season Koalas May not Eat at all
On a Rainy day

The daily intake of the Eucalyptus leaves within koalas is also dependent upon their age and the grinding power of their teeth. Younger koalas have sharp teeth that are perfect for grinding while the older koalas suffer from the problem of tooth-decaying. Therefore; an adult koala in its prime will eat less as compared to an old-aged koala which will eat more.

Older koalas or old-aged koalas consume more Eucalyptus leaves because they suffer from tooth-decaying. Older koalas eat 41 percent more Eucalyptus leaves as compared to the young koalas.

According to the koala researchers, older koalas consume 41 percent more Eucalyptus leaves as compared to the younger koalas. Furthermore; older koalas have to chew their diet 25 percent more as compared to the older koalas. Remember chewing is an important part of koalas’ body energy production and without proper chewing a koala fails to produce body energy.

Younger Koalas in Prime
Eat Normal Quantities of Eucalyptus Leaves Olders Koalas in Old Age
Eat More Quantities of Eucalyptus Leaves Older Koalas Cannot
Chew Eucalyptus Leaves Properly Older Koalas Consume
41% More Eucalyptus Leaves Older Koalas Chewing is
Also 25% More than Younger Koalas

Similarly; the food consumption of the female koalas also varies depending upon the presence of joeys within their pouch. Female koalas having joeys in their pouch are called the lactating females because they feed milk to their young ones. In order to ensure continuous supply of milk for their young ones, the lactating female koalas have to consume more Eucalyptus leaves as compared to the non-lactating female koalas.

The lactating female koalas consume 36% more Eucalyptus leaves as compared to the non-lactating or normal female koalas.

Researchers have calculated that the lactating female koalas consume 36% more Eucalyptus leaves as compared to the non-lactating female koalas. Therefore; two equal-sized female koalas may have different levels of Eucalyptus leaves’ consumption, if one of them is the lactating females while the other one isn’t.

Lactating Female Koalas
Eat more Eucalyptus Leaves Female Koalas with Joeys
Need More Food to Fulfill Energy Requirements Lactating Female Koalas
Consume 35% More Food than other Females Older Koalas Consume
41% More Eucalyptus Leaves

Since; koalas are mostly considered as the nocturnal eaters, therefore; they eat more at night as compared to the day time. According to estimates, koalas eat 66% of their per day diet in the evening. However; the per day food consumption of koalas revolves around 5 specific intervals of the day. Koalas are known to eat before the sunrise, before sunset, after sunset, at afternoon and late afternoon.

Even though koalas are considered as the nocturnal eaters, koalas eat 5 times a day i.e., before sunrise, before sunset, after sunset, afternoon and late afternoon.

According to the koala observers, koalas consume maximum amount of Eucalyptus leaves before the sunset than any other time of the day. Furthermore; koalas have never been spotted to consume Eucalyptus leaves at the mid-night time.

Koalas Eat Eucalyptus Leaves
5 Times a Day Koalas Mostly Eat
Before Sunrise Koalas also Eat
After Sunset Occasional Food Schedules of Koalas
Before Sunset, Afternoon & Post-Afternoon

Lastly; in the concluding remarks, we can conclude that the per day food consumption of koalas varies according to their size, temperature, age, teeth-health and lactation etc. The 600 to 800 grams of Eucalypts leaves consumption per day is for the mid-sized koalas who weigh around 10 kg in weight.

Male koalas in normal circumstances eat more Eucalyptus leaves as compared to the female koalas.

Since male koalas are bigger than the female koalas, therefore; we can assume that in normal circumstances the male koalas consume more Eucalyptus leaves as compared to the female koalas. Furthermore; since koalas eat more than 20 hours per day, therefore; they spend very few hours in eating as compared to the other herbivores.

Male Koalas Eat
More than Female Koalas Male Koalas are
Bigger in Size Female Koalas are
Smaller in Size Bigger Koalas Require
Greater Consumption of Eucalyptus Leaves