Keeping a Koala Bear as a Pet

Who does not fall in love with the fascinating furry bundle that has been drawing tourist for years. Some people are even considering if the koala bear would make a good pet. Did you know however that the koala bear is not really a bear. The koala bear is actually closer to the wombat family, which is another Australian marsupial. If you take a look at the Australian encyclopedia it will show you how captivating and cuddly they are.

When full-grown it weighs about 30 pounds, and live for up to 20 years in the wild, and twelve years in captivity. The small size and cuddly features are what have attracted many people to think about whether or not you should be able to have one as a pet. Another attractive quality of the koala bear is the leafy diet. Koalas browse on about 50 different kinds of eucalyptus trees but usually less than a dozen of these are their favorite. A full grown koala eats about two or three pounds of leaves a day. But can they really be tamed?

If obtained when they are very young koalas have been tamed and have become very affection pets. A couple in Australia raised a pet from the time it was three months old. In order to comfort the cub they would place a piece of koala fur tied around a pillow and placed alongside her in a basket as a substitute for her mother. Eventually as she got older she became very attached to humans and hated being left alone. This can become a nuisance.

So it is possible to tame them, but you should be aware that it is illegal to have them as pets. However for some reason, there are several groups of people who are trying to get the law changed so that they can keep them as pets. Although this is probably very unlikely to happen. The Koala bear is now actually a protected animal. For a short period of time they were actually hunted, and some people still try to keep them as pets. However there are very severe penalties for anyone who may try.

Of course they are very cute and cuddly looking but researchers agree this is one animal that should not be allowed to be kept as pets. If this ever does happen many animal protection groups fear that the koala bear may eventually become extinct. I found out about this problem on the animal channel. They had a very interesting one hour documentary into how people wanted them as pets. But just because an animal is able to be tamed does not mean that it should be kept as a pet in a persons home.