Koalas are marsupials that live in the eastern part of Australia. Their preferred food is Eucalyptus leaves. Eucalyptus leaves are not very nutritious, and because of this, koalas are generally slow-moving, and they sleep as much as 20 hours a day. Koalas are somewhat endangered, as their preferred living areas are being destroyed through bushfires, which have become much more frequent and severe due to climate change.
Did you know that a baby koala is called a joey?
The name koala comes from an Australian Aboriginal language, and it means "no water". They were given this name because the Aborigines believed that koalas did not drink water. However they do drink water, but they don't come down from trees to drink very often.
The scientific name for the koala is phascolarctus which means "pouch bear".