Marsupial Double Standard
Like other marsupials, male koalas have a bifurcated (forked) penis, while females have two lateral vaginas and two uteruses.
Koalas share the unusual marsupial reproductive anatomy: males have a two-pronged penis and females have a double reproductive tract.
The female koala has: - Two lateral vaginas (for sperm transport) - Two uteruses (for carrying young) - A central birth canal (for delivery)
The male's forked penis matches this anatomy, delivering sperm to both reproductive tracts simultaneously.
Baby koalas (joeys) are born incredibly underdeveloped after only 35 days of gestation. The pink, jellybean-sized newborn must crawl from the birth canal to the pouch entirely on its own. It's blind, hairless, and its hindlegs aren't even fully formed.
Once in the pouch, the joey latches onto a nipple for 6-7 months, continuing its development. When ready to eat solid food, the mother produces a special substance called "pap" — which is basically a specialized form of feces. This sounds disgusting, but pap contains essential gut bacteria the joey needs to digest eucalyptus leaves.
Koalas sleep 18-22 hours per day because eucalyptus leaves provide very little nutrition. Their entire lives are adapted around this low-energy diet.