koala

[ koh-ah-luh ]

noun

1. a sluggish, tailless, gray, furry, arboreal marsupial, Phascolarctos cinereus, of Australia.

koala

/ kəʊˈɑːlə /

noun

1. a slow-moving Australian arboreal marsupial, Phascolarctus cinereus, having dense greyish fur and feeding on eucalyptus leaves and bark Also called (Austral)native bear

Word History and Origins

Origin of koala¹

1800–10; erroneous spelling for earlier koola ( h ) (now obsolete) < Dharuk gú-la

Word History and Origins

Origin of koala¹

from a native Australian language

Example Sentences

In Australia, three honeyeater bird species steal fur from koalas.

From Science News

I planned to have the koala installed lower than other sculptures, because I wanted to create a visual — and almost physical — contact with the public.

From Washington Post

While kangaroos and koalas are more well-known, researchers who study marsupials often use opossums in lab experiments, since they’re smaller and easier to care for.

From MIT Technology Review

Echidna Walkabout tours offer one- to three-day Koala Recovery Experience trips to habitats west of Melbourne, where participants plant eucalyptus trees and learn about the importance of koalas to the ecosystem.

From Washington Post

Besides the impact on koalas, the WWF Australia report suggests that as many as 3 billion individual mammals, birds, reptiles and frogs died or were displaced during the crisis.

From Science News

In the koala (Australian native bear), a vegetable-feeding marsupial, it is more than thrice the size of the body.

From Project Gutenberg

A terrible hullabaloo between a pair of Opossums up a neighbouring gum tree arrested the attention of both Dot and the Koala.

From Project Gutenberg

The Koala saw that Dot was proud, but as it didn't see any reason why she should be, it was not a bit afraid of her.

From Project Gutenberg

It then got the Koala to look into the mirror also, and said it would get an idea into its little empty head if it did.

From Project Gutenberg

Another pouched animal is the Koala, or Ashy Koala as it is called.

From Project Gutenberg