Koala
Phascolarctos cinereus
A tree dweller that eats almost nothing but eucalyptus (A tree from Australia with tough, strong-smelling leaves.) leaves and sleeps most of the day.
Eucalypt forest, eastern Australia. Find it on our world map
Did you know?
A koala is not a bear. It is a marsupial (A mammal whose babies grow up in a pouch on the mother’s belly.), like a kangaroo.1
Koalas can sleep up to 18 hours a day.2
They eat eucalyptus leaves, but only a few kinds out of the hundreds that grow.1
A baby koala is called a joey. It lives in its mother’s pouch for about six months.2
Koalas live in eastern Australia, from northern Queensland to Victoria.2
Who is helping
Koalas are losing the trees they live in, and many get sick or hurt. Koala hospitals care for them and return them to the wild.
Sources
Credits
Photo: Hayley P, via iNaturalist. Photo: James H, via iNaturalist. Range drawn by hand from published range maps.