No more koala burgers for you, Australia! We know koalas as those sweet, teddy bear-looking creatures who nibble eucalyptus leaves while their little baby koalas cling onto their fur. Cuuute! But for eaters Down Under, koala is lunch. Believe it or not, koala meat is an Australian delicacy.
But not for long. The Australian parliament has just voted to put the koala on the threatened species list. Did the Australians eat too many koala steaks?
It looks like climate change and urban expansion were the biggest culprits in wiping out Australia's koalas. And people's pet dogs kept killing them, believe it or not.
But Australians have been known to nosh a koala or two. They also eat crocodile and kangaroo tail (ask our senior lifestyle editor Catherine Donaldson, who visits family there). It's just another form of protein. Adorable, fuzzy, funny-nosed protein. Looks like the Chinese will eat koala, too. It's been seen on a menu there.
As far as I'm concerned, a lot of delicious animals are cute (bunnies!). I'm more freaked out by the eucalyptus flavor koalas probably have. If that's all they eat, wouldn't their meat have kind of a menthol bouquet? Does eating koala clear your sinuses?
Anyway, now that the koala is on the endangered list, I guess I'll never find out. Which is fine. Koala wasn't on my list of "exotic animals I'd like to eat someday." Actually, I don't have an "exotic animals I'd like to eat someday" list, but sometimes I wonder if I should. Maybe I'm missing out on something great. I mean, if people smoke menthol cigarettes ...
See this video on The Stir by CafeMom.
Would you ever try koala meat if you had the chance?
Image via sporkist/Flickr