December's Cover

Reprinted from "Crown Jewels of the Wire", December 1996, page 2

Almost everyone associates the holiday season with a cute, pleasantly stuffed "Teddy Bear." So, this month's cover goes right to the source! The koala is probably Australia's favorite animal. It is known affectionately as the Australian teddy bear although there are a dozen names to choose from. At various times it has been called bangaroo, koolewong, narnagoon, buidelbeer, native bear, karbor, cullawine, colo, koala wombat and New Holland sloth! For a long time it was believed the koala was most nearly related to the wombat and was placed in a family on its own near the wombat. Now it is placed with the opossums. The koala is a small bear, 2 feet high and weighing up to 33 lbs. It has tufted ears, small eyes with a vertical slit pupil and a prominent beak-like snout. It is tailless except for a very short rounded stump, has a thick ash-grey fur with a tinge of brown on the upper parts, yellowish white on the hindquarters and white on the under parts. It has cheek pouches for storing food and the brood pouch on the female opens at the bottom. On the front feet the first toe of the five toes are opposed to the rest and the first toe on the hindfoot is opposed. 

The koala is arboreal, only occasionally descending to lick earth -- which apparently aids in digestion -- or to shuffle slowly to another tree -- or telephone pole! The koala is partial to collecting white porcelain Cordeaux style insulators!!

Large Image (232 Kb)

Thanks to Jack Hayes, Pakenham, Ontario, for sending in this great cover photo. It was taken from Purnell's Encyclopedia of Animal Life © 1969. British Printing Corporation Publishing Lt., 49/50 Poland Street, London. Published in 96 weekly parts, No. 45 (Vol. 3, No. 13). I think I was even able to keep this cover a secret from Foreign Insulator columnist, Marilyn Albers. To CJ subscribers "down under", this one is for you!