Koala sleeping in a eucalyptus tree Mar 11, 2024

Take a cue from today"s image; this sleepy koala may inspire you to catch some Z"s. Despite being commonly called "koala bears," the koala is not a bear. Koalas are marsupials, a type of mammal that carries and nurses their young offspring in a pouch. These adorable Australian marsupials can sleep up to 20 hours a day, which helps them conserve the little energy they get from their eucalyptus-based diet. Koalas move slowly when awake, spend most of their time tucked into nooks in trees, and have a lower body temperature than other animals of their size. Koalas are herbivores and their diet consists exclusively of eucalyptus leaves. These leaves are very fibrous and difficult to digest, but koalas have a specialised digestive system that allows them to break down the tough cellulose in the leaves.

© Anton Rogozin/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Mar 11, 2025Broken Beach in Nusa Penida, Bali, Indonesia

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Nov 10, 2024Caribbean flamingos, Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico
May 19, 2024Vernazza, Cinque Terre, Liguria, Italy
Dec 30, 2025Whooper swans
Nov 7, 2025Polar bear in Canada
Dec 15, 2023SantaPark, Lapland, Finland
Mar 21, 2024Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda
Apr 24, 2025Kenai Fjords National Park, Seward, Alaska, United States
Nov 18, 2023Polar bear mother and cubs
Sep 23, 2024Sea otter, Alaska, USA
Oct 5, 2023Gentoo penguins, Antarctica
Feb 27, 2024Polar bear cubs
Dec 13, 2025Merced River, Yosemite National Park, California, United States
Oct 21, 2023Persepolis, Iran
Nov 2, 2024American bison in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA
Dec 19, 2024Sibiu Christmas Market, Romania
Feb 6, 2024Lake Tahoe
Sep 13, 2025Point Reyes National Seashore
Nov 13, 2025Quiver trees, Namibia
Sep 12, 2024Dolphin pod near Réunion island
Jul 31, 2025Kalalau Beach on the Nā Pali Coast, Kauai, Hawaii, United States
Aug 30, 2023Whale shark, Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia
Jul 4, 2024Zahara de la Sierra, Andalusia, Spain
Jan 10, 2026The Matterhorn reflected in Lake Stellisee at sunrise, Zermatt, Switzerland
Oct 25, 2025Martimoaapa Mire Reserve, Finland
Dec 22, 2023Castlerigg Stone Circle, Cumbria, United Kingdom
Jun 12, 2025Chisos Mountains, Big Bend National Park, Texas, United States
Oct 28, 2024Pumpkin field, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Jun 17, 2025Maritime forest in Cumberland Island National Seashore, Georgia, United States
Oct 6, 2023Taughannock Falls State Park, New York, USA
Oct 16, 2025Eurasian lynx, Siberia