Why Koalas Have no Tails

WHY KOALAS HAVE NO TAILS
One day many, many years ago a young koala and his friend were walking to a nearby billabong. This koala, whose name was Koka noticed something strange in the middle of a sturdy clump of rustling leaves. It was like he could feel there was someone watching him, waiting for just the right moment to pounce. Koka had a strong and sudden urge to get as far away from the place as quickly as he possibly could.
The next day, Koka couldn’t stop thinking about the thing in the leaves at the billabong. That night, he decided to go back to the billabong and find out what it was, or if it was indeed just his imagination playing tricks on him. And so, as darkness fell over the land, Koka set out towards the billabong in the soft glow of the overhanging moon.
As Koka approached the glass-like water, he suddenly saw many pairs of startlingly red eyes peering out at him and he couldn’t suppress a shiver as he arrived at the spot where he had been standing only a day before. He called out to see if anyone was there. The only answer he got was more intense staring of the scarlet eyes. Koka’s mind only told him to run when it was too late.
Whatever they were- they pounced. Koka let out a cry of pain as they pinned him down but he was easily silenced. Koka realised that these curious creatures were in fact goannas. Then one of them spoke in a raspy, forced voice; ‘You have trespassed koala. There is a punishment for this.’
Koka replied in a terrified, unusually high-pitched voice ‘I have no idea what you mean. I have trespassed on nobody’s land except my own.’
‘Ridiculous!’ exclaimed the goanna. ‘Have you, or have you not been coming down to this billabong lately? I daresay you will confirm that you have!’
‘yes’ said Koka, slightly calmer than a few seconds ago. ‘But this Billabong isn’t just for the goannas. We need to share the land.’
At this, the goannas let out a shrieking cry of anguish and lunged at Koka with such force that he was knocked off his feet immediately. Razor sharp claws tugged at every part of his body they could reach. The world was a blur of scales, teeth and talons and as Koka made a desperate bid for freedom by climbing into the topmost branches of a nearby eucalypt, he felt a searing pain and swivelled around to see a bleeding stump where his tail used to be. And then everything went black.
When he came to, Koka was still lying in the dangerously frail branches at the top of the tree. His body was aching in every possible way but the pain in what was left of his tail was the worst. Koka glanced down below him and saw several goannas reaching up to where he lay. They would break the thin branches if they climbed as high as he had done but nevertheless, they were trying hard to get an extra swipe at him. Such terrible tempers goannas had. Most of them had left, however, and Koka guessed they were heading to get revenge on any other koalas that had dared come down to the billabong. Koka wished he could warn them but didn’t want to put his own life in any more danger than it already was. In the meantime, he needed to rest....
Koka had to spend quite a few days barricaded up in his haven at the top of the tree. By the time he thought it was finally safe to come down, he had become quite accustomed to the leaves on the eucalypt as that was all he had had to eat since being attacked by the goannas. Koka travelled back up the familiar path towards his colony, his friends, family and even his enemies. As he approached it, he realised how much of a mess it had become in the few short days he hadn’t been there.
There were those tending to the sick and injured, many trying to fend for themselves and some who looked like they had just given up. Many, he noticed, had nothing but stumps for tails just like him, some still bleeding. Koka was disgraced and didn’t try to stop himself as his voice boomed out at what was once his home; ‘This is what the goannas have made of us. They have disgraced, and now disabled us. We need to get as far away as possible from them. I suggest we retreat to the tops of the trees, they cannot reach us there and there is plenty of food for us there as well. We must try.’
Most agreed straight away, but some took a little convincing. Eventually they all indeed took cover in the trees as there were little other options open to them. It took a while but they simply had to get used to it. And they did. Koka was a hero,