Jordyn Chapman- Why Koalas are Suddenly Drinking Water

Summary: Koalas usually get the water they need from their food—but hotter, drier weather is making some koalas desperate. Koalas typically meet their daily water intake from the leaves that they eat, but researchers from University of Sydney have documented an increase in sightings that signal increased pressure from climate change. Koalas are leaving their trees even when they would normally be asleep, according to university researchers. The animals can sleep up to 18 hours a day in trees, and their primary diet consists of eucalyptus leaves, which they often eat at night. They can eat up to two and a half pounds of leaves per day, but researchers are lead to believe the leaves that used to provide more than enough hydration are drying out with the rise in temperate in Gunnedah. But with the help of artificial water stations, Mella thinks that conservationists could give koalas a better chance to thrive. “We hope to use our findings to create a practical plan to manage Australia's rural lands for this iconic species,” she said.
Analysis: This article was written on March 31, 2017 by Heather Brady who works as a producer with National Geographic. Prior to reading this article, I knew separate facts about koala eating habits and climate change, but never thought about how the two impacted each other. It proves to be a major issue and is shown to give awareness to those directly associated with the animals and those concerned about the well being of the world. In this way it is significant because it is more than just an effect on one species. Climate change, in fact, has been proven to effect many other animals, even humans. We may not notice the small change, but slowly it's making a big difference.
Synthesis: This article can connect to another incident occurring in the 1920's-1930's potentially threatening the lives of koalas as they were widely hunted. The population took a major hit and could possibly again if the problem isn't solved.
Article: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/03/koala-bears-water-eucalyptus-leaves-trees-australia/