A study has revealed that hugging trees helps koalas to keep cool.
A koala relaxes in the fork of a gum tree in Sydney. Photo: AFP
Scientists used thermal cameras to reveal that in hotter weather, the animals moved to the lower, cooler parts of the trees and pressed their bodies even closer to the trunks.
The team led by researchers from the University of Melbourne was studying how koalas regulate their temperature.
Their work was part of a wider research project investigating the effect of climate on land-dwelling animals in Australia, the BBC reports.
Measurements of the trunks' temperatures showed that, on days as hot as 39 degrees Celsius, they were up to seven degrees cooler than the air.
The study has been published in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters.
