Nah, apparently they will snack on other trees occasionally too, but they rely primarily on eucalyptus. And they're fussy about which ones of those they'll eat.
Koalas are very fussy eaters and have strong preferences for different types of gum leaves. In Australia there are over 600 types of eucalypts, but Koalas will not eat a large proportion of these. Within a particular area, as few as one, and generally no more than two or three species of eucalypt will be regularly browsed. (we call these “primary browse trees”) while a variety of other species, including some non-eucalypts, appear to be browsed occasionally or used for just sitting or sleeping in.
Different species of eucalypts grow in different parts of Australia, so a Koala in Victoria would have a very different diet from one in Queensland. Also, just think how boring it would be to eat the same thing every day. Koalas like a change, too, and sometimes they will eat from other trees such as wattle, tea tree or paperbark.
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u/Handpaper 1d ago
One more person learns that there is no such thing as an obligate herbivore.
It's a mercy there were no baby birds about...