Koala Bears?

Question

Why are Koala Bears called bears when the are actually marsupiales ???

Answer 1

good question - simple play on words I would say - early English explorers who saw them for the first time probably thought they were tiny bears or bear cubs. They thought whales were sea monsters - you can see where it comes from

Answer 2

Early European settlers to Australia called the Koala the Native Bear. They just needed a name and at the time that's the best they could come up with.

Answer 3

STATUS:
Vulnerable.
DESCRIPTION:
Koalas have soft, wool-like fur that is gray above and white below. Their fur is mostly white on the underside below the neck, and their ears have long white hairs on the tips. The koala resembles a bear, but is actually a marsupial, a special kind of mammal which carries its young in a pouch.

SIZE:
Koalas are rather small, round animals. They weigh about 30 pounds and on average grow to be 2 feet tall.

POPULATION:
There are fewer than 100,000 koalas.

LIFESPAN:
Koalas can live as long as 17 years, although high mortality rates (due to car fatalities and dogs) for males lower their life expectancy to 2 to 10 years.

RANGE:
The koala's historic range stretches across Australia. Today they can be found only in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia.

HABITAT:
Koalas prefer to live in eucalyptus forests, coastal islands, and low woodlands.

FOOD:
Koalas consume eucalyptus leaves and bark from 12 different eucalyptus tree species. They also consume mistletoe and box leaves. Koalas consume eucalyptus leaves and bark from 12 different eucalyptus tree species. They also consume mistletoe and box leaves.

BEHAVIOR:
Nocturnal mammals, koalas sleep for up to 16 hours a day. They are arboreal, which means that they live in trees. They do not live in big groups but rather prefer to be alone.

OFFSPRING:
Koalas breed once a year. Gestation lasts 35 days, after which one koala is born. The baby koala is very small when it is born, and lives in its mother's pouch for five to seven months. After this time, koalas gradually become independent and survive on their own.

THREATS:
Once numbering in the millions, koalas suffered major declines in population during the 1920s when they were hunted for their fur. Today, habitat destruction, traffic deaths, and attacks by dogs kill an estimated 4,000 koalas yearly.

PROTECTION:
Australian national laws protect koalas, but each individual state is responsible for the animal's conservation.

Answer 4

Because they look like teddy bears... The koala is a mammal. They make the most horrific noise when they mate - sounds like a elephant blowing his trumpet crossed with a cow with bad wind... anyways another useless fact is the scientific name is: Phasclarctos cinereus.....

Answer 5

They are NOT Koala BEARS!!!!! They are only KOALA'S.
It's only the ignorant that call them Bears.

Answer 6

I don't know i guess the human race has called them bears for so many years that it has just become a thing we do

Answer 7

probably when they were first found by europeans they resembled bears in their opinion. lots of animals are called other names because of similarities even though they are'nt the same species. the echidna also called the spiny anteater. the tazmanian tiger was a member of the marsupial family.

Answer 8

Theyre not, theyre just called KOALAs

Answer 9

because aussies cant spell or pronounce marsupial god knows it took forever to get past koala

Answer 10

Ah, it's just another misnomer. People named them for what they reckoned they looked like - cuddly bears!