Pap - The first solid food of the Koala Joeys

Pap is the first solid food eaten by the koala joeys as part of their lifecycle. Pap as the solid is only produced by the mother koalas for their joeys. Furthermore; pap is the first step for the koala joeys to shift from the mother's milk to the solid diet i.e., the Eucalyptus leaves. Therefore; this food helps the koala joeys to get used to with the real taste of the Eucalyptus leaves.

Pap is the first solid food eaten by the koala joeys and it serves as the transitional diet of the koala joeys from their mother's milk to the solid diet of Eucalyptus leaves.

Despite the fact that pap is said to be the solid food for the joeys, pap is almost 80% water. Pap appears as the jelly-like substance that is dark green in color. Therefore; it is very soft, pulpy and mushy to touch. This article explores pap as the food for the koala joeys from various perspectives such as its production by the mother koalas, consumption by joeys and nutritional values etc.

Pap as a food is present within the hindgut or caecum of the mother koalas. It is entirely made up of Eucalyptus leaves. Some people associate pap with the fecal matters of koalas but this is not true. According to the koala experts, pap is produced on the demand of the koala joey to its mother.

Pap as the first solid food for the koala joeys is excreted by the koala mothers from their anus and it appears after the discharge of the fecal matters. It is excreted on demand by koala mothers for their joeys.

For this purpose, a koala joey nuzzles and rubs its mouth around the anus areas of its mother and as a result pap is excreted by the mother koalas along with the fecal matters. At first the solid fecal matters which appear as pellets are excreted and at the very end pap starts to get excreted by the mother koalas. Pap as mentioned earlier is dark green in color along with watery and jelly feeling.

The koala joeys can only feed on the pap when they have the strength to come out of their mother's pouch. Usually; the koala joeys start feeding on pap from their 6th month and onwards. However; some sources have also quoted that the pap feeding by the koala joeys start from the 5th month and onwards. The koala joeys continue to feed on the pap food until their teeth start to emerge within their mouth.

A koala joey starts feeding on pap from the 6th month and onwards. Joeys continue to feed on pap unless teeth emerge within their mouth and they can directly eat the Eucalyptus leaves.

When their teeth emerge, they start feeding on the fresh Eucalyptus leaves extracted by them on their own. Since, their teeth usually appear from 7th to 8th months for the koala joeys, therefore; we can safely assume that the koala joeys rely on pap as the solid food for almost 4 to 8 weeks.

Pap as diet specifically helps the koala joeys to gain a relatively faster growth as compared to their mother's milk. Therefore; when the koala joeys are being fed on pap their growth rate is strongest amongst all of their previous growth periods. Therefore; eating pap as their key diet serves as one of the most important phases of the koala joeys.

The koala joeys experience a relatively faster growth period when they start feeding on pap as their first solid diet after their mother's milk.

Without pap a koala joey may become very weak because their mothers' milk may not be able to support their joey's energy requirements when they are six months old. Therefore; the absence of pap within the koala joeys' diet may threaten their survival because it may decrease their immune system as well.

Most importantly; pap as part of the koala joeys' diet also offers greater nutritional values. According to researchers, pap as the solid diet is fully enriched with microbes and nutrients for the koala joeys. Furthermore; pap is the finely chewed food by the koala mothers, therefore; it easily gets digested by the koala joeys. The koala joeys still try to chew them despite not having any teeth at all in their mouth.

Pap as a diet contains a lot of microbes and nutrients for the koala joeys. It also contains symbiotic bacteria which also helps them in digestion.

Just like the adult koalas, most of the digestion of pap food usually takes place in their stomach. Lastly; pap also contains a lot of symbiotic bacteria which helps in degradation of tannins within the stomach of the koala joeys.

Lastly; in the case of the orphaned koala joeys, pap is given to them (at six months old) from another female koala which also has a joey feeding on the pap diet as well. It is advisable not to freeze the pap as koala joeys only essentially feed on the fresh pap.

The orphaned koala joeys are also given fresh pap from another mother which is also feeding pap to its young joey. It is advisable not to freeze pap for the orphaned joeys.

However; if pap is not available, the koala pellets are mixed with water and are given to the koala joeys. Often pap is also extracted from the koalas' stomach which die in the accidents or through dog attacks. Pap is usually collected from their hindguts and is sent to the animal sanctuaries for the orphaned koalas across Australia.