Measuring the Microbes in Koalas

How does a koala eat eucalyptus leaves? Eucalyptus is toxic to most animals, but they’re a koala’s only food. In this episode, we look past the cuddliness to discover how koalas manage to chow down on the Australian tree species. Biologist Michaela Blyton shares the story of how she convinced some extremely picky koalas to try new foods in the midst of a conservation crisis. Spoiler alert: It involves starting a koala hotel, and inventing a pill with an unusual ingredient. Today’s episode is a longer one, in celebration of our first day back from a long break! But don’t worry, our next episodes will be back to our usual time. For more resources about koalas and the conservation crisis at Cape Otway, visit our blog at sciencepodcastforkids.com Want to hear more of our interview with Dr. Michaela Blyton? We have an exclusive interview episode for our Patrons! Just pledge $1/month (or more) on patreon.com/tumblepodcast. You’ll get these special bonus episodes for every interview we feature this season!