How is a koala different from a bear?

Answer 1

Koalas are not even remotely related to bears. Differences include:

• Koalas are not found outside Australia; no species of bear is found in Australia.
• Koalas are marsupials; bears are placental mammals.
• Koalas are not related to bears in any way, shape, form or classification. They are not "koala bears" - just "koalas".
• Koalas live almost exclusively on gum (eucalyptus) leaves and, occasionally, flowers. Bears are omnivorous, eating a great variety of foods.
• Koalas are essentially grey in colour; bears can be black or brown or, like pandas, black and white

Answer 2

Although they are all marsupials, koalas differ from wombats and kangarois in numerous ways.

• Koalas are essentially arboreal, spending most of their lives in trees. Koalas have very strong claws suitable for gripping trees and climbing. The shape and design of their fingers enables them to act like opposable thumbs. Between their first and second "fingers" is a large gap, which enables them to also grip tree branches comfortably, whilst their hind legs have one toe set at a wide angle. They also have toes with thick pads which enable them to sit comfortably in a tree all day.
• Koalas have a very specialised diet, consisting almost exclusively of eucalyptus leaves.
• All of these animals are nurtured on mothers' milk when joeys, but koalas introduce solid food very differently. When the joey reaches 28-30 weeks old, the mother koala produces a substance called pap, which is actually a specialised form of the mother's droppings. Having passed through the mother's digestive system, pap gives the joey the enzymes it needs to be able to start digesting the tough gum leaves, making an easier transition for the baby koala to start eating eucalyptus leaves.

Answer 3

• Koalas are not bears. Koalas are marsupials and bears are placental mammals.
• Because koalas are marsupials, they have a pouch in which to rear their undeveloped young. Bears do not.
• Koalas are endemic to Australia, while bears are found in North America, South America, Europe and Asia.
• Koalas exist solely on eucalyptus leaves whilst bears (apart from pandas) are omnivorous.
• Koalas do not hibernate but bears do.
• Koalas live most of their life in eucalyptus trees (gum trees); although bears can climb, they are essentially ground-dwelling animals.
• There are many different species of bear, but just one species of koala.

Answer 4

The two creatures are very different, with the only similarity being that they are both mammals. Koalas and bears are not even remotely related.

Differences include:

• Koalas are not found outside Australia; no species of bear is found in Australia.
• Koalas are marsupials; bears are placental mammals.
• Koalas are not related to bears in any way, shape, form or classification. They are not "koala bears" - just "koalas".
• Koalas live almost exclusively on gum (eucalyptus) leaves and, occasionally, flowers. Bears are omnivorous, eating a great variety of foods.
• Koalas are essentially grey in colour; bears can be black or brown or, like pandas, black and white

Answer 5

Although koalas and kangaroos are marsupials of the order Diprotodontia, which are native to Australia, there are some differences:

• Koalas have backward-opening pouches while kangaroos' pouches open at the top.
• Koalas climb tree; kangaroos cannot climb (although tree kangaroos can jump up trees and from limb to limb).
• Koalas can only walk and climb; kangaroos can walk and hop.
• When a koala walks, it can move all its limbs independently. The kangaroos's back legs cannot move independently.
• There are dozens of species of kangaroos, but only one species of koala, with some dispute as to whether there are two or three sub-species.
• A kangaroos has a tail; a koala does not have a tail.
• Kangaroos and koalas are both herbivorous, but koalas have a specialised diet and live almost exclusively on eucalyptus (gum) leaves, while kangaroos eat a variety of grasses and young shoots. Smaller species of kangaroos are omnivorous,
• Although well adapted to a variety of temperatures, kangaroos need to drink water more often than koalas do

Answer 6

Koalas and bears are not related in any way. Subsequently, there are many differences between the two.

• Koalas are marsupials and bears are placental mammals.
• Because koalas are marsupials, they have a pouch in which to rear their undeveloped young. Bears do not.
• Koalas are endemic to Australia, while bears are found in North America, South America, Europe and Asia.
• Koalas exist solely on eucalyptus leaves whilst bears (apart from pandas) are omnivorous.
• Koalas do not hibernate but bears do.
• Koalas live most of their life in eucalyptus trees (gum trees); although bears can climb, they are essentially ground-dwelling animals.

Answer 7

Koalas have aspects that are both similar to and different from other animals.

Koalas are unique because they live in eucalyptus trees and eat only a few types of gum leaves from which they get all nutrients and water requirements. Only two other species, the Ringtail possum and the Greater glider, are able to live solely on eucalyptus leaves.

Koalas are marsupials, along with over 330 species, and like some other marsupials, they have a backward-facing pouch. One features which is truly unique to the koala is the fact that, once the young joeys are about 30 weeks old, the mother produces a substance called pap. This substance is actually a specialised form of the mother's droppings which, having passed through her digestive system, give the joey the enzymes it needs to be able to start digesting the tough gum leaves, making an easier transition for the baby koala to start eating eucalyptus leaves.

Answer 8

A koala is not a member of the bear family at all. Koalas are marsupials.

To read how koalas are different from the bear family, see the related question.

Answer 9

koalas and kangaroos are different because a koala has no tail and a kangaroo has a tail