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Scientists have unlocked one Foraboutaroundbetweenbyfrominofoffonouttoup the secrets as to how koalas stay cool and avoid dehydration Foraboutaroundbetweenbyfrominofoffonouttoup the intense heat Foraboutaroundbetweenbyfrominofoffonouttoup Australian summers. They hug trees. Foraboutaroundbetweenbyfrominofoffonouttoup decades people thought the cuddly marsupials clung to trees simply because they were tired and wanted somewhere to nap. Researchers Foraboutaroundbetweenbyfrominofoffonouttoup Melbourne University have now cast new light Foraboutaroundbetweenbyfrominofoffonouttoup the tree-hugging habits Foraboutaroundbetweenbyfrominofoffonouttoup the koala. Lead researcher Natalie Briscoe said there is a five-degree difference Foraboutaroundbetweenbyfrominofoffonouttoup temperature Foraboutaroundbetweenbyfrominofoffonouttoup a tree trunk and the air. Koalas utilize the cooler surface Foraboutaroundbetweenbyfrominofoffonouttoup spreading themselves Foraboutaroundbetweenbyfrominofoffonouttoup on large branches or by hugging the trunk. Ms Briscoe said: "Access to these trees can save Foraboutaroundbetweenbyfrominofoffonouttoup half the water a koala would need to keep cool on a hot day."

Briscoe studied the behaviour Foraboutaroundbetweenbyfrominofoffonouttoup 37 koalas on an island Foraboutaroundbetweenbyfrominofoffonouttoup the Melbourne coast. She is part of a team trying to identify how koalas might survive higher temperatures brought Foraboutaroundbetweenbyfrominofoffonouttoup global warming. Her observations and conclusions regarding the cooling effects Foraboutaroundbetweenbyfrominofoffonouttoup the trees came as a surprise Foraboutaroundbetweenbyfrominofoffonouttoup her. She noted that the koalas sat upright Foraboutaroundbetweenbyfrominofoffonouttoup cooler weather, hugged branches when it became warmer, and then wrapped themselves Foraboutaroundbetweenbyfrominofoffonouttoup the tree trunk when it got hot. The animals even moved to different trees that had cooler trunks. She said the trees are probably cooler because Foraboutaroundbetweenbyfrominofoffonouttoup the water they suck Foraboutaroundbetweenbyfrominofoffonouttoup from the ground. The koala's cooling technique could be one way Foraboutaroundbetweenbyfrominofoffonouttoup humans to survive increasingly hot summers.