Koalas' fur quickly gets rid of rain water

One of the best traits of koalas' fur is that it can quickly get rid of rain water. As soon as the rain water falls on the fur of koala, it goes off quickly from its fur without getting absorbed. Biologists believe that the koalas' fur acts like a rain coat on which the water never passes through or goes near the skin to create a cold impact.

Koalas' fur has an amazing ability to get rid of the rain water. The water never reaches koalas' body and it never causes any impact on koalas.

This attribute along with many others i.e., fluffy, wooly and thick fur etc. have allowed people to call the koala's fur as the magical fur. In fact; no other animal across the Australian continent and within the marsupial family has this kind of fur (koala fur) which gets rid of the rain water as quickly as possible. This article highlights couple of key features within the koalas' fur through which koalas can easily get rid of the rain water from their fur.

A closer examination of the koalas' fur reveals that it possesses several hundred hairs per square inch. This not only makes their fur to be thick but also very fluffy as well. These hairs grow so close to each other that they always tend to remain dry even during the rainfall on their fur. Furthermore; the koalas' fur essentially possesses two layers (double layer of fur) i.e., the upper layer and the lower layer.

Each per square inch of the koalas' fur has several hundred hairs. Furthermore; koalas' fur has two layers. These fur features avoid koalas being getting drenched with the rain water.

The upper layer may get wet through the rain water while the lower layer remains dry. On the other hand; the upper layer also has the key ability to get rid of the rain water very quickly. This mechanism really helps koalas to stay dry even during the worst of rains.

The koala researchers relate the phenomenon of the rain water passing quickly through their fur with ducks whose feathers also get rid of the rain water very quickly. This allow ducks to enjoy the rain water while koalas enjoy their rest and sleep in the rain water without any worries. A closer examination has revealed that ducks have the ability to generate oil through their feathers which get rid of the rain water very quickly.

Researchers relate the koalas' fur to that of the ducks' feathers which also get rid of the rain water very quickly.

The same is true about the koalas' fur as their fur is extremely oily and it is very unlikely that rain or dampness may penetrate below their fur. Therefore; the koalas' ability to create oil on their fur also helps them to get rid of the rain water very quickly from their fur.

Koalas' fur is very oily and because of this trait it is very unlikely that the rainwater or dampness may penetrate inside their fur.

Interestingly; the fur of koalas is little sensitive from their chest and water-resistant mechanism is not available at this part of the fur. Their fur is rather thin from their chest and in male koalas it is even bare at a specific location from where it releases glands for scent marking. This area of fur is a bit sensitive and its direct exposure to the rain water may allow koala to suffer from cold.

Koalas' chest has thinner fur and this part of their fur is not water resistant at all. Koalas usually cover this area while raining and only expose their back to the rain water.

However; koalas have their thinner fur covered during the rainy season by choosing a hunched resting or sleeping posture. This way only the back side of the fur gets exposed to the rain water which has all the attributes and features to get rid of the rain water.

During the rainy weather, where other animals seek shelter like coming down the trees etc., koalas preferably stay on the Eucalyptus trees. They feel confident and enjoy their time to fulfill their long sleep of 20 hours per day.

Koalas are less active in rain because they don't eat the wet Eucalyptus leaves. Their fur also helps them to take long rest during the continuous rain spells.

However; it has been observed that koalas during rain are rather less active and they wait for the leaves to get dry. This also means that koalas even sleep further during the rainy days as compared to the normal days and their fur comes in very hand in this regard.

Lastly; A soaked or drenched skin through rain would have exposed koalas to suffer from cold. On the other hand; koalas' body energy is not that much sufficient to resist the cold. Remember, koalas do not have enough body energy because their diet the Eucalyptus leaves doesn't offer any nutritional value and energy for them.

If koalas didn't have water-resistant feature within their fur, they would have consistently suffered from cold in raining. Furthermore; their lower body energy to cop with cold would have been a nightmare scenario for them.

Therefore; an absence of the water-resistant fur within koalas would have been nastier and even disastrous for koalas. However; currently this is not the case within koalas, as they are blessed with a fur that is fully water-resistant and it promptly gets rid of the rain water.