Koala

The Koala is not a bear, but a marsupial. Like the kangaroo, it carries its young in a pouch. It rarely drinks water—Koala means "no water" in native Australian. Its water and food come from eucalyptus leaves, which are water rich but nutrient poor. To conserve energy, the Koala naps up to 20 hours a day and stays up in its home trees most of the time.

Koalas live in the woodlands of Australia. Thick fur and skin make it difficult for them to adapt to rising temperatures. Increased CO2 in the air produces less protein in the eucalyptus leaves, forcing the Koala to search for other sources of food and, in times of high heat, water. On the ground, the slow moving Koalas are prey to wild dingoes and domestic dogs, or are hit by cars as they cross roads. Their habitats are also being destroyed by drought, bush fires and development.

Other animals effected by climate change

Koala
Koalas live in the woodlands of Australia. Thick fur and skin make it difficult for them to adapt to rising temperatures. Increased CO2 in the air produces less protein in the eucalyptus leaves, forcing the Koala to search for other sources of food and, in times of high heat, water. On the ground, the slow moving Koalas are prey to wild dingoes and domestic dogs, or are hit by cars as they cross roads. Their habitats are also being destroyed by drought, bush fires and development.

Tufted Puffin
Tufted Puffins are threatened by sea level rise and storm surges which destroy habitats and breeding areas. In some areas of North America warming seas are causing the fish that the Puffins feed on to migrate farther north, making it difficult for them to find adequate food. Other threats are entrapment in fishing nets, oil spills, pollution, ingestion of plastic, human disturbance of breeding colonies and introduced predators such as rats and foxes.

Beluga
Belugas live in Arctic and Sub-Arctic waters. Impacts from climate change include: an increase in ship traffic as sea ice declines, oil exploration and extraction, fisheries by-catch, and disruption of the food web. As Arctic waters warm and currents change, the Humpback (a competitor) and the Orca (a predator) may move north and stay longer. Some Beluga populations are also threatened by hunting, pollution and habitat loss.

Arctic Fox
The Arctic tundra is a region of shrubs, grasses and permanently frozen subsoil. Warming could change the tundra to boreal forest—habitat for the Red Fox. The Red Fox, a predator and a competitor for food, is already beginning to migrate north into the Arctic Fox's territory. Milder tundra weather also causes changes in the population of lemmings and rodents—main food for the Arctic Fox.