The Koala Phascolarctos cinereus, or, inaccurately, Koala Bear is an herbivorous, tree-living marsupial that feeds exclusively on the leaves of a few specific types of Eucalyptus trees. Baby Koalas are called joeys, and after leaving the pouch, remain with their mothers for about 12 months.

Koalas are an iconic Australian mammal and are easily recognised by their round fluffy ears, large flat black nose and stout, tailless body. Koalas have two 'thumbs' - their fingers and toes are arranged with three digits pointing one way, with the other two separated from them. This arrangement assists them to grip securely on to trees with their long black claws.

Koalas are between 60-85 cm (24-33 in) long and weigh 4-15 kg (9-33 lb). In Australia they occur from southern Queensland to South Australia in tall eucalypt forests and woodlands relatively near the coast.

Koalas are relatively inactive, and usually spend most of each day wedged into a tree fork asleep, possibly because of their poor, low-calorie diet of eucalyptus leaves. Koalas have few enemies, but are affected by diseases such as Chlamydia, and many die in bushfires. Koala populations are mostly threatened by fragmentation of their habitat as it is cleared for housing and farmland.