Koalas are most closet relatives of wombats and are the marsupial animals native to Australia. They are very beautiful and cute facial animals; if some of us see them, the first thing that comes to our mind is touching or catching them. Many people also asked, “Are Koalas Friendly, or Can we touch them.”
However, only one specie of koala with two sub-species exist in the world: Queensland or northern koala, and the victor, the southern koala. Koalas are the only extant representative (living specie) of the family Phascolarctidae. Phascolarctos cinereus is the scientific name of the koala.
Koalas are also called “koala bears” because their physical appearance resembles teddy bears. But, in reality, they are marsupial animals instead of bears. They contain grey colour fur and long fluffy ears. A koala has beautiful small yellowish-brown eyes. The average length of a koala is about 60 to 85 cm, and weight is about 4 to 15kg.
According to some resources, they evolved 25 million years ago in the forests which is now Australia. Now, we come to our main topic; “do koalas friendly to humans or not .”
Table of Contents
Are Koalas Friendly Animals?
The simple answer is that koalas are not friendly animals towards humans. However, they have a very nice and cute faces, but they are wild animals and don’t show an interest in humans.
Koalas are a unique and special species that like to live independently and do personal things without interacting with other animals and humans. However, there is also a myth that koalas like humans or enjoy spending time with us.
In some cases, koalas show nice behaviour when humans toches them, but in these cases, koalas are raised by humans. If a wildlife caretaker raises a koala, the animal will have good relationships with the caretaker. However, the raising koala will show friendly behaviour with the caretaker but not show friendly behaviour with unfamiliar people.
Koalas feel nervous when a human comes near them. However, these cute animals are not dangerous, but if they feel threatened, then they can attack you. Koalas have sharp claws and teeth.
In Australia, a koala attacked a woman, biting the woman’s leg. However, the woman does not seriously injure. Like this, a few more cases were also reported. So, clearly, some koalas have aggressive behaviours and can be dangerous.
Are Koalas Show Friendly Behaviour With Each Other?
The simple answer is no; koalas are also not friendly with each other. Koalas like to live in solitary. Koalas live in different regions of Australia, which includes New South Wales, Queensland, and Victoria. However, sometimes koalas show aggressive behaviour towards each other and start a fight.
These beautiful solitary animals rarely collaborate with other koalas. These animals like to live in social groups and always hate migration. When they find a home, they live there with the group. They also do not like it if someone enters their territory. They also respect other animals’ territories.
In social groups of koalas, each member has its place and does not interact with others. So, you can assume that these animals do not like each other, so why would they show friendly behaviour with humans?
Do Koalas Dangerous?
No, koalas are not on the list of dangerous animals. They just sleep a lot and eat the leaves of the tree. They also try to avoid the interaction with humans. If they saw humans, their priority would try to climb up higher on the tree. However, if they feel threatened, then they can show aggressive behaviour.
Are Koalas Like Humans?
As they are not friendly towards humans, they also do not like humans. This fact might disappoint you; koalas do not like us. But, it is the painful truth. They are highly territorial animals and will always be aggressive towards humans rather than nice or friendly behaviour.
Most people consider them lazy animals specie. But it’s not true. They are not lazy animals. The leaves of eucalyptus trees are their main diet. They live a very slow lifestyle because their diet comes from only the leaves of one tree, and they easily get their diet.
Due to this, they sleep 22 hours a day and just eat the leaves. Their lifestyle is very simple; they do not want anyone to disturb them, and they also do not disturb other lives. They just like to live on their own.
Wild koalas hate to become someone’s pet. If someone wants to cuddle them, they also do not like this. They also do not like if someone comes near them and touches them. So, don’t go too close to the wild koalas. However, when they see humans, they always try to run off.
Can Koalas and Humans Become Friends?
This can be possible; koalas can become humans friends, but only in some conditions. This thing usually only happens sometimes.
If a wildlife caretaker starts caring for an orphan baby koala, a specific relationship between them occurs. A particular type of friendship can happen in that type of scenario.
So, in these cases, can a koala become a friend of humans? A koala is a wild animal, and we cannot 100% give the assurance that they can become human’s friends because their wild instincts can come out at any time.
Can We Touch A Koala?
Koalas are wild animals; you should not touch koalas like any other wild animal. Always remember, never think of touching a predatory wild animal.
However, many videos were released where people touched and cuddled the koalas. In the videos, all these things look very cute, but all these koalas are the pets of people who are cuddling or touching them.
However, a petted koala is irritated and upset by the other people who the koala doesn’t know. If you try to touch a koala, then this act could angry it, and it could start to chase you. They become so bothered by this act. So, don’t try to touch them, because they don’t like it.
Are koalas carry any other diseases?
Yes, koalas carry two types of diseases: Chlamydia and Koala Retrovirus (KoRV). These diseases impact koalas a lot, and some studies show that these diseases have been with them for thousands of years.
Many koalas around Australia suffer from these diseases. However, the symptoms of these diseases are blindness, bladder infection, and eye- infections. Don’t worry; if somehow you touch a koala, the disease will not affect you.
Some Myths About Koalas
- The most interesting myth about them is that they drink alcohol from the eucalyptus tree. People think they sleep 22 hours, so they drink alcohol. But this is not true. They eat the leaves of the eucalyptus tree, and the tree does not contain any type of intoxication or alcohol.
- Some people also think that they are very slow and lazy animals. But this myth is also not true. An average speed of a koala on the ground is about 32 kilometres per hour.
- There is a myth that koalas eat only one type of tree. But this is also not true. They eat 15 different types of eucalypts (gum trees).
Final Thoughts
Koalas are beautiful and cute animals specie that is native to Australia. They are sleeping 22 hours a day and look very lazy. They are unique animal specie and love to live their lives in solitary. They don’t like it if anyone disturbs them, which includes both animals and humans.
However, they seem very friendly animals because of their small yellow sleepy eyes, but in reality, they’re not friendly and like to live alone. However, this specie loses their homes and lives because of these diseases and other reasons.
So, if you want to do something for them, donate to the organizations that can help and save them. Also, they do not like us, and we cannot become their friends. So, “Are Koalas Friendly?” You better know what the answer is.