Koala

The koala is a tree-dwelling marsupial from Australia. It is not a bear, despite being sold as one in most gift shops. Its most surprising feature is its fingerprints, which are so similar to human fingerprints that experts have said they would be hard to tell apart even under a microscope.^[1] Detectives in Australia have been advised, informally, to consider whether the suspect lives in a tree.

Koalas sleep for up to around twenty hours a day. They spend most of the remaining four eating, and the rest of the time looking as though they are about to have a nap.

Diet

Koalas eat almost nothing but eucalyptus leaves, which are tough, low in nutrients and poisonous to most other animals. Koalas cope by digesting them very slowly and by not doing anything energetic. The sleep, in other words, is not laziness but accounting.^[2]

Not a bear

The koala is often called a koala bear. It is a marsupial, which means it carries its young in a pouch, and its nearest living relative is the wombat. The Bear Registry has sent several letters about this and received no reply, because the koala was asleep.

• Is it a bear? No.
• Does it look like a bear? A bit.
• Has it been told? Repeatedly, but always during a nap.

See also

• Wombat – its closest living relative
• Pillow – what it would use if it had one
• Tree – its bed
• Red panda – another tree-dweller with a strict diet

References

1. Gumleaf, G. (1996). Not a Bear. Pouch Press.
2. Snooze, S. (2008). “Twenty Hours: An Audit”. Marsupial Economics 20: 4.
3. Print, F. (1997). “Whose Fingerprint Is This?” Case unresolved.