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Scientists have unlocked one of secrets as to how koalas stay cool and avoid dehydration in intense heat of Australian summers. They hug trees. For decades people thought cuddly marsupials clung to trees simply because they were tired and wanted somewhere to nap. Researchers from Melbourne University have now cast new light on tree-hugging habits of koala. Lead researcher Natalie Briscoe said there is five-degree difference in temperature between tree trunk and air. Koalas utilize the cooler surface by spreading themselves out on large branches or by hugging trunk. Ms Briscoe said: "Access to these trees can save about half water koala would need to keep cool on hot day."

Briscoe studied behaviour of 37 koalas on island off Melbourne coast. She is part of team trying to identify how koalas might survive higher temperatures brought by global warming. Her observations and conclusions regarding cooling effects of trees came as surprise to her. She noted that koalas sat upright in cooler weather, hugged branches when it became warmer, and then wrapped themselves around tree trunk when it got hot. The animals even moved to different trees that had cooler trunks. She said trees are probably cooler because of water they suck up from the ground. koala's cooling technique could be one way for humans to survive increasingly hot summers.