Are koalas drunk? It’s a common myth that gets spread around as an explanation for why koalas sleep so much!
We’re here to debunk that myth!
Koalas only eat gum leaves – that part is true – but the leaves don’t cause them to get drunk or high. Instead, the leaves have low nutritious value, with high fibre content, making them very slow to digest.
As a result, they don’t give the koalas much energy, causing them to sleep all day! It also allows the koalas to conserve their energy, so it’s ready when they need it – getting away from a predator, for example.
If you compare it to the human species, it would be like a human eating McDonalds or Hungry Jacks or any other fast food all day, week or year and then trying to run a marathon. It just wouldn’t work! There would be no nutrition and not enough energy to sustain that physical output.
So next time you see a koala having a snooze, remember they’re not drunk or high … they’re living the life we all secretly wish we could have! Eating junk food and sleeping all day … sounds perfect, doesn’t it!