Koala in Profile With Tufted Ears Against Soft Green

A koala is shown in close profile, facing right, its head and upper chest filling most of the frame. The thick grey fur looks dense and slightly woolly, and long pale tufts spill from the rounded ears, with a pinkish-red inner ear catching the sunlight. The large, dark, leathery nose is the strongest shape in the picture. A small brown eye sits in a soft pinkish patch, and a few whiskers show against the light cream chin and white chest. The background is a smooth, muted olive-grey blur, so nothing competes with the animal. The mood is calm and composed, with warm light picking out the fur along the edges.

Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) are marsupials native to eastern Australia, where they live in eucalyptus woodland. They eat mostly eucalyptus leaves, which are low in nutrition and toxic to most animals, so koalas save energy by sleeping for much of the day, often around 18 hours or more. Their thick fur sheds rain and helps insulate them. Each koala has a strong sense of smell that helps it pick leaves. The soft background and the subject's position on the right suit a widescreen desktop monitor, where the left side leaves room for icons.

More like this: Three Bears Walking Down a Northern Highway and Great Blue Heron Standing on a Seaweed-Strewn Beach.