It lives almost entirely on gum leaves, its pouch opens backwards, its closest relative is the wombat and human activity is its most dangerous enemy. These and other equally fascinating facts about one of nature's most appealing animals accompany a portfolio of photographs of the koala in its natural habitats. Written by the President of the Wild Life Preservation Society of Australia and his wife, a former trustee of the Australian Museum and a council member of the National Museum of Australia, this is a portrait of one of the oldest creatures to have inhabited the earth.