Every child loves a teddy bear. Well, what animal do you think looks like a teddy bear? You guessed it — koalas. They look so much like living teddy bears that many people actually call them koala bears.

Not bears:

However, But koalas are not bears at all. They are members of an unusual group of mammals called marsupials (like the famous kangaroos). Like all marsupials, koalas have pouches they use for carrying their babies. And the only thing cuter than a fuzzy, friendly- looking koala is a sleepy koala baby peering out of its mother’s pouch.

Koala home:

To see koalas in their natural home, it is necessary to visit eastern Australia. This is where koalas can find an abundant source of their preferred eucalyptus leaves. Different koala species prefer different kinds of leaves, so it is the trees that dictate what species of koala can be found in what area.

The largest koalas (Victoria koalas) live the farthest south in the coldest areas. The koalas with the thinnest fur (Queensland koalas) live in the warmer, northern areas. The New South Wales koalas range in between.

Hunting haunt:

The only thing a koala will hunt is its favourite eucalyptus tree. When it has found a suitable tree, the koala is not likely to climb down to the ground again until the leaf supply is diminished or it decides to take a drink from a stream. Koalas are very awkward on the ground, but can be as fast as a rabbit.

Favourite food:

Koalas are very particular about the species of eucalyptus they will eat. Although there are 600 different kinds of eucalyptus growing in various parts of Australia, most are unacceptable to the finicky koala. Some koalas will eat the leaves of only two or three eucalyptus species-and if those species are not available, the koalas will not eat at all. This is the primary reason that few zoos around the world are successful at exhibiting koalas.

Having babies:

All marsupials, including koalas, begin life very differently from other mammals. This birth process is one of the main ways marsupials are distinguished from other mammals. Koalas give birth to ‘unfinished’ babies. After only 30 days inside the mother, a blind and deaf infant-only three quarters of an inch long-emerges to make a five minute climb into its mother’s pouch. Inside, the baby attaches itself to a milk source. It will spend the next six months hidden from the world, growing and developing much like other mammals do before they are ever born. The first time it emerges from the pouch, a koala is about eight inches long and ready (with mother’s help) to start eating eucalyptus leaves.

Protecting them:

The mammal extinction rate is higher in Australia than anywhere else in the world. In earlier years, koalas disappeared from certain parts of the continent when their eucalyptus trees were cut down to make room for farms. Nowadays, however, people in eastern Australia try to take good care of koalas. In places where koalas are likely to cross roadways to reach water or fresh trees, signs have been erected to warn drivers to be on the lookout for these cuddly-looking creatures. People want the koalas to thrive.

What you didn’t know:

• Koalas are not bears, but marsupials.

• They have pouches to carry their babies.

• A koala’s favourite food is the eucalyptus leaves.

• Though there are 600 kinds of eucalyptus, most are unacceptable to the finicky koala. Some will eat the leaves of only two or three species. If these are not available, koalas will not eat.

• Koalas are very awkward on the ground, but can be as fast as a rabbit.

• Koalas give birth to ‘unfinished’ babies, which then climbs into the mother’s pouch, attaches itself to a milk source, and continues to grow for another six months.