# How many of you realize that koalas are not bears? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 10, 2021, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-realize-that-koalas-are-not-bears/941764 "2021-05-10T15:02:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-realize-that-koalas-are-not-bears/941764/41 "2021-05-10T21:55:25Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > How about drop bears? Are they bears or racoons? Neither. [They are marsupials](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thylacoleo) … but we don’t talk about them. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-realize-that-koalas-are-not-bears/941764/42 "2021-05-10T21:58:08Z")
I thought they were supposed to be some kind of saber tooth koala but that wiki says marsupial lions. I’m so confused! ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-realize-that-koalas-are-not-bears/941764/43 "2021-05-10T22:05:09Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > and the best sausage is a sock full of money. Nooooooooo, that’s not the best sausage. Use your imagination. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-realize-that-koalas-are-not-bears/941764/44 "2021-05-10T22:06:16Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > I’m still struggling with the fact that Tasmanian Devils are a real animal. Taz is adorably incorrigible, but compared to his non-anthropomorphic namesakes he’s a wuzz. No real [Tasmanian Devil](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasmanian_devil) is calmed by music. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-realize-that-koalas-are-not-bears/941764/45 "2021-05-10T23:20:08Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > > [@TriPolar](#): > > > > How about drop bears? Are they bears or racoons? > > Neither. [They are marsupials](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thylacoleo) … but we don’t talk about them. Darn - I was going to ask about drop bears. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-realize-that-koalas-are-not-bears/941764/46 "2021-05-10T23:23:22Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Pandas are more closely related to raccoons. Well obviously the non-trash panda is closely related to the trash panda. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-realize-that-koalas-are-not-bears/941764/47 "2021-05-10T23:48:19Z")
The scariest thing about real Tasmanian devils is that they don’t bleed. They’ve got a special fatty layer under their skin that seals up wounds instantly. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-realize-that-koalas-are-not-bears/941764/48 "2021-05-10T23:58:22Z")
While I can agree with the arguments that you can call things bears even if they aren’t taxonomically related, that very much does not seem like the sort of thing Sheldon Cooper would do. It’s not like those other examples where there isn’t another common name. The usual term in any learned place for koalas is, well, “koalas,” not “koala bears.” This is something covered in animal facts made for children, even. I agree with the OP that Sheldon Cooper using “koala bear” is out of character. What I would expect to happen is that someone else (Penny maybe?) would say “koala bears” and Sheldon would chime in with “Actually, koalas are not taxonomically ursine and thus are not properly called _bears_.” (Or he might bring up their nearest common ancestor.) It does seem likely that, like with many other nerdy things, the writers just didn’t know this. And I share the surprise given how ubiquitous said knowledge is. Heck, I’m even surprised that Jim Parsons wouldn’t have stepped in and said that Sheldon would say “koala.” ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-realize-that-koalas-are-not-bears/941764/49 "2021-05-11T00:32:58Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > How about drop bears? Are they bears or racoons? Nobody knows. No one has ever seen one and lived. > [@furryman](#): > > I’m still struggling with the fact that Tasmanian Devils are a real animal. They are badass. There’s a sanctuary in Tasmania where you can see them in action. We were there when they fed half a wallaby carcass to a bunch of them. It was like watching piranhas except more vicious. They ripped the carcass to pieces in minutes. Within 15 minutes there was nothing left. Not even bone or skin. And they fight one another vociferously all the while, screeching and growling and snapping their jaws. Quite a spectacle. > [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](#): > > Lucky! I’m so envious! Holding one is at the top of my bucket list (sad, I know). Consider _not_ doing this. It is still permissible because the pressure from the tourist trade is too much to resist. But the reality is they don’t like it at all and - based on their heart rate - they get very stressed about it. It’s quite cruel. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-realize-that-koalas-are-not-bears/941764/50 "2021-05-11T00:45:50Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > They are badass. There’s a sanctuary in Tasmania where you can see them in action. We were there when they fed half a wallaby carcass to a bunch of them. It was like watching piranhas except more vicious. They ripped the carcass to pieces in minutes. Within 15 minutes there was nothing left. Not even bone or skin. And they fight one another vociferously all the while, screeching and growling and snapping their jaws. Quite a spectacle. I’ve been to that sanctuary (my cousins live just outside Hobart.) They are scary-ass mofos. They are not big creatures, maybe the size of a smallish dog (~25 pounds), but what they lack in size they make up for in sheer unbridled aggression (or what passes for such to a casual eye.) ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-realize-that-koalas-are-not-bears/941764/51 "2021-05-11T00:50:21Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’ve been to that sanctuary (my cousins live just outside Hobart.) There are several sanctuaries in Tasmania for Devils. I’ve been to a couple. The one that I saw this at was Trowunna. Same one as you? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-realize-that-koalas-are-not-bears/941764/52 "2021-05-11T00:59:57Z")
I went to the Tasmanian Devil Unzoo in Taranna. (Back in 1993.) Not sure if it was called that back then, but that’s the one. I think it was just Tasmanian Devil Park. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-realize-that-koalas-are-not-bears/941764/53 "2021-05-11T01:01:10Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > But the reality is they don’t like it at all and - based on their heart rate - they get very stressed about it. It’s quite cruel. I’m sorry to hear that. I was at the Wildlife Dome in Cairns a few years ago, figured the little guy had been raised by people there. I don’t want to upset animals, no matter how cute. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-realize-that-koalas-are-not-bears/941764/54 "2021-05-11T01:08:49Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I went to the Tasmanian Devil Unzoo in Taranna. (Back in 1993.) Not sure if it was called that back then, but that’s the one. I think it was just Tasmanian Devil Park. Different one. But I’m sure the devils behave just the same. The big difference between now and 1993 is the outbreak of Devil facial tumor disease which is wiping out large amounts of the devil population. It’s passed from animal to animal by direct transmission of cancerous cells from around their mouths and of course because devils fight so much, it’s easily transmitted between them. Trowunna isn’t just a zoo. It is literally a sanctuary. They are keeping a breeding population of tumor free devils there. It is surrounded by double layer fencing designed to ensure no affected devils can get in contact with the devils in the sanctuary. The thought is that if the disease literally wipes devils out (and last I heard that was a real possibility) they would wait till there were none left outside the sanctuary then release tumor free devils to re-populate. > [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > I’m sorry to hear that. I was at the Wildlife Dome in Cairns a few years ago, figured the little guy had been raised by people there. I don’t want to upset animals, no matter how cute. Yes it’s quite weird in a way. I think everyone (myself included) assumed they were fine with it, just as you did. But it seems not, at least when I last read anything about it. They are very slow moving low energy animals. I suspect they would get stressed out by a passing butterfly. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-realize-that-koalas-are-not-bears/941764/55 "2021-05-11T01:27:29Z")
Yes I knew that koalas were marsupials and thus not the same thing as bears. At least as far as convergent evolution and econiches go, they’re more like sloths: slow moving low energy tree dwellers. Here is a passage from Desmond Morris’s “The Naked Ape”, I refer you to the last entry: > it was sometimes difficult to identify the animals from the names given, especially in the case of very young children. It was easy enough to decipher loins, hores, bores, penny kings, panders, tapers and leapolds, but almost impossible to be certain of the species referred to as bettle twigs, the skipping worm, the otamus, or the coco-cola beast. ---
**Author:** ![jshore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@jshore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jshore)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-realize-that-koalas-are-not-bears/941764/56 "2021-05-11T01:42:55Z")
Just as long as someone doesn’t try to tell me that teddy bears are not bears either, I’ll be okay! ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-realize-that-koalas-are-not-bears/941764/57 "2021-05-11T01:52:27Z")
They most certainly are. Unfortunately various ruthless imposters in the animal kingdom have attempted to steal the name. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-realize-that-koalas-are-not-bears/941764/58 "2021-05-11T01:52:31Z")
> [@jshore](#): > > Just as long as someone doesn’t try to tell me that teddy bears are not bears either Hate to be the one … but whilst there are phenotypic similarities the DNA evidence is conclusive that they are not ursine. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-realize-that-koalas-are-not-bears/941764/59 "2021-05-11T01:55:40Z")
Ya gotta love The Dope. Two diametrically opposed and incompatible views posted in the same minute. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-realize-that-koalas-are-not-bears/941764/60 "2021-05-11T02:00:23Z")
They are related to jackalopes, oddly. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-realize-that-koalas-are-not-bears/941764.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-realize-that-koalas-are-not-bears/941764.md?page=4)