Though sometimes called a koala bear, the koala is not a bear. The koala is actually a type of tree-dwelling marsupial, with a backwards-facing pouch, like wombats.
Koalas are endemic to Australia, where they can only be found in the southeast and eastern parts of the country, along the coastlines of Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, and Victoria. They live in forests and open woodlands, typically dominated by eucalyptus tree species.
Most of the Koala's time is spent in eucalypt trees sleeping and feeding, although occasionally it travels along the ground like its closest relatives, the wombats. The Koala is solitary and the larger males have scent glands on their chest. Breeding occurs during summer and usually one baby, or joey, is produced each year.
CBS News: Koala wanders into Australian family's home and climbs their Christmas tree
entertainment.ie: Stop what you're doing and look at this koala in a Christmas tree
Stop what you're doing and look at this koala in a Christmas tree
Yahoo Life UK: Koala Is 'A Precious Baby in Perfect Peace' Snoozing in a Tree
Koala Is 'A Precious Baby in Perfect Peace' Snoozing in a Tree
Yahoo News Australia: Koala clings for life at top of tree during South Australia's 'super storm'
A koala has been filmed clinging on to a dangerously thin tree branch in the middle of the South Australian storms, as heavy rain and wild winds threaten to send him toppling to the ground. High in ...
Koala clings for life at top of tree during South Australia's 'super storm'
An Australian family came home Wednesday to find an unusual ornament in their Christmas tree -- a live koala clinging to a branch. The McCormicks were gone for about three hours when they returned to ...