Complete the passage with the words from the box.

preserve     for      like      belief       iconic        highly     pouch       home

No one can resist the cuddly allure of koalas. These (1) __________ Australia animals are marsupials, a kind of mammal that is born undeveloped and is carried in a pouch. (2) __________all marsupials,including kangaroos, wombats, baby koalas are called joeys.

Newborn koalas are called pinkies, born blind and about the size of a jellybean. After birth the pinkie immediately crawls into its mother’s (3) ________, where it’ll stay for 6 to 7 months. At around 9 to 10 months the joey leaves the pouch for good, ready to munch on a variety of eucalypts. The leaves of these trees are (4) _______ toxic and low on nutrition, requiring lots of energy to digest. This is why koalas spend so much time snoozing so as to (5) __________ energy - often sleeping up to 18 - 20 hours a day!

Contrary to popular (6) _______, the koala is not a bear - though it’s certainly as cute as a teddy bear. One of the best places to see koalas in the wild is Kangaroo Island, a natural island sanctuary that is (7) ______ to many of Australia’s native animals. It’s the ultimate Australia bucket list destination (8) _______animal lovers.