Koalas spend most of their time in trees — but are in deadly danger when they descend to the ground, new research shows.

When the first vaccinated koala was returned to her habitat on March 9, the scientists placed her cage at the base of a tree and opened the door. She quickly emerged and bounded up the tree trunk.

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They are actually tree dwellers - but most koalas die on the ground. According to a recent study, the animals only spend ten minutes a day on the ground. Keystone-SDA 10.07.2025, 05:15 ...

A female koala licks water off the smooth trunk of an eucalyptus tree after a rainfall in the You Yangs Regional Park, Little River, Victoria, Australia in this undated photo released on May 4, 2020.

He looks at the little one trying to climb up and meet its mother and assists it in reaching the parent sooner. FPJ Web Desk Updated: Sunday, October 29, 2023, 02:08 PM IST ...

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The researchers have also discovered some koala populations climb into acacia trees during hot days and hug the trunk which is up to five degrees cooler than the surrounding air.

Hugging trees, Dr Kearney said, helps the koalas to avoid similar water loss - enabling them to "dump heat" into the tree and to avoid panting.

After a few hours or days, the koalas will eventually climb down from one tree to seek tasty leaves on another, and wander into the harmless traps. “It's hard to confuse a koala with any other animals ...