THE TOTEM: The Koala

Koala is cute and fuzzy and basically harmless. Koala Totems are an unambitious lot, and usually not suited to direct shadowrunning. However, they all show a marked interest in beating the system. They also have a strange gambling streak that often gets them in trouble. Koala Totems are a great source of background contacts-- they make great info brokers, computer hackers (some even get wired to go netrunning), and other sources of inside data.
Disadvantages: They lose two dice from Combat spells. They are easily panicked, startled, or distressed. They tend to be wary of other people, though not necessarily suspicious. However, many Koala Totems eventually go very paranoid in later life.

Koala twins are rare. There has been only one known instance of them being born. This was in 1965, at West Burleigh Fauna Reserve, in Queensland. They were discovered in their mother's pouch, and were still both very young when they grew too large to remain in there together. Staff say that it would have been impossible for them both to fit in, even with the help of a shoe horn! The little animals were hand-nursed alternately, giving each a chance to spend some time in the pouch while the other was kept warm outside it.
FACTS:
Koalas are marsupials. They carry their young in a pouch. Koalas are NOT bears. The greatest threat facing wild koala populations today is the destruction and fragmentation of their habitat. Since white settlement of Australia approximately 80% of the koala’s habitat has been destroyed. Of the remaining 20% almost none is protected and most occurs on privately owned land. Stopping trees from being cleared in the first place and protecting existing koala habitat is the most effective way to conserve koalas. Koalas have specific, specialised habitat requirements which include the presence of other koalas in the first instance, followed by the presence of preferred food trees. Wild koalas arrange themselves in socially stable breeding groups where each koala has its own home range. Koalas are territorial animals. They do not wander aimlessly through the bush. Koalas have a slow metabolic rate due to their high-fibre, low nutrient diet. Because they store little or no fat, koalas must adopt strategies that conserve energy. Sleeping is one of them. Koalas are NOT drugged out on gumleaves. Chlamydia (a sexually transmitted bacterium) - is not the greatest threat to the koala. Strains of Chlamydia found to affect koalas include Chlamydia pecorum and Chlamydia pneumoniae - not Chlamydia psittaci as previously believed.

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