Are koalas bears?

No. Sometimes people call koalas, “koala bears”, but they aren’t bears at all. Grizzly, polar, and black bears are placental mammals. (For a reminder, turn to page 10.) Koalas may look like little cuddly bears, but they are really marsupials. Their tiny babies — or joeys — are raised in mom’s pouch.

Koalas only live in Australia. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner for these furry, grey animals is one thing — eucalyptus leaves. Koalas live in eucalyptus trees and munch on as much as one kilogram of leaves each day. The leaves from some kinds of eucalyptus trees are poisonous, but koalas are super smellers and can sniff out the best leaves to eat.

Today, the forests koalas live in are being cut down to make room for cities and roads. Eucalyptus wood is also used for building. Many people are trying to help the koalas by making sure they will always have eucalyptus forests to live in.