Researchers have released a new study proving that Koalas hug trees not only to avoid falling but also to remain cool in extreme heat, according to a new study.
The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Melbourne to help understand the effects of climate change on animals.
Researchers used thermal images to prove that koalas handle extreme heat by resting against cooler tree trunks.
Then they examined the behavior of approximately 30 koalas during hot weather at French Island, which is located in Western Port, approximately 38 miles southeast of Melbourne.
It was there that they learned that while the animals pant and lick their fur to cool down, they also hug tree trunks when they are hot and tired, according to a press release issued by the University of Melbourne.
"We found trunks of some tree species can be over 5°C cooler than the air during hot weather," Natalie Briscoe of the University of Melbourne and the study's lead author, said in a statement, according to the release. "Access to these trees can save about half the water a koala would need to keep cool on a hot day. This significantly reduces the amount of heat stress for koalas."
A koala's body is covered with thin fur that helps the animals keep their skin in close contact with tree trucks, according to researchers.
"On hot days, koalas aim "to cool the vital organs in their chests as well as their brains by losing heat through their chests and groin areas," Michael Kearney, a zoologist at the University of Melbourne and the study's co-author, said to Discovery News.
The researchers used a portable weather station to known what the koalas were experiencing in the places they liked to rest, compared to other places that were free, as part of their study.
"When we took the heat imagery it dramatically confirmed our idea that 'tree hugging' was an important cooling behavior in extreme heat," Kearney said. "Cool tree trunks are likely to be an important microhabitat during hot weather for other tree dwelling species including primates, leopards, birds and invertebrates."
The researchers believe that the findings could help revise efforts to conserve the koala population.
"About a quarter of the koalas in one population died during a heat-wave of 2009, so understanding the types of factors that can make some populations more resilient is important," said Andrew Krockenberger, from James Cook University in Queensland, Australia, according to the release.
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