Koala is more than just a fascinating book about these marsupials, it’s also an enjoyably informative chronicle of this continent from ancient prehuman times to the challenges of the present. By enjoyable, I mean as a reading experience. In fact, as I read, I often reflected on how, despite our big brains, we humans are amazingly stupid and mostly barking up the wrong tree – unlike koalas who are a bit fussy about which trees they climb up, and very fussy about which leaves they eat.

This book is full of interesting facts. Were giant koalas part of the Australian megafauna? As we follow author Danielle Clode on an intrepid investigation of the koala fossil trail, it appears the answer is they technically weren’t (owing to body mass), although they did exist at the same time. Through Clode’s research, we learn that the koalas we have today are the smallest of the evolutionary line – the largest of which was about three times the size of the modern koala – and that the koalas that now live up north are smaller and less hairy than the koalas down south.

The story of koalas is also the story of the evolution of eucalypts, and their unique adaptations to the Australian climate and our ancient soils. How does the koala live solely on leaves that are full of toxic substances? There are more modern challenges too: drought, fire, disease and hunting have wreaked havoc on koala populations over time. Despite best efforts to repopulate areas with healthy animals, the fate of the koala is assuredly linked with our own as we face the challenges of climate change. I once thought a pack of mythical boar beasts was rampaging around the house at night, only to learn it was simply koala mating season. The image this provoked was very different to pictures of Blinky Bill asleep in the fork of a tree! Ever since, I have found these creatures fascinating, and I loved reading this book.

Margaret Snowdon is from Readings Carlton.