MICROBIOLOGICAL STUDIES OF THE INTESTINAL MICROFLORA OF THE KOALA, PHASCOLARCTOS-CINEREUS .2. PAP, A SPECIAL MATERNAL FECES CONSUMED BY JUVENILE KOALAS

Quantitative and qualitative studies on the microflora in the faeces o f 10 female koalas, Phascolarctos cinereus, were conducted with specif ic reference to 'pap', a special maternal faeces consumed by the juven ile at about the time of first emergence from the pouch. This specific coprophagy, called 'pap feeding', occurred multiple times in all of t he females examined. Pap was higher in water content (81.8%) and pH (7 .0) than normal faeces produced by the females before and after pap fe eding (54.6-56.4% and 5.5, respectively), suggesting that it is derive d directly from the contents of the caecum. Pap had higher (23-41-fold ) viable counts of tannin-protein-complex-degrading enterobacteria (T- PCDE) than the normal faeces; in four of the females examined, viable T-PCDE were found in pap but never in the normal faeces. The evidence indicates that pap feeding is an essential physiological activity for the juvenile koala to prepare it for an imminent dietary transition fr om maternal milk to tannin-rich eucalypt leaves.