Their big eyes soften our hearts, their natural hugging position is just begging for a reciprocated embrace, and their overall look is like that of our childhood plush toy. But they aren’t teddy bears. They are shy, wild creatures that do not naturally see us as their friends.

12-15 years

You can only cuddle a koala in three states: Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia. Of these, Queensland is undoubtedly the nation’s koala-cuddling capital. The world’s first and largest koala sanctuary is just outside Brisbane.

In New South Wales, you aren’t allowed to hold a koala, but you can get up close to one at numerous venues, including Featherdale Wildlife Park in Sydney, where you can meet and pat a koala — or even have breakfast with one if you prefer. Breakfast with koalas is also an option at the WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo.

The closest place where you can hold a koala is the Kuranda Koala Gardens in Queensland, Australia. But getting there from the US will cost a LOT more than a ticket to the San Diego Zoo. But you can often touch Koala fur at San Diego Zoo. Look for the red-shirted volunteers in the Outback area.

How common are they, and where can you see them? Koalas are only included at 10 U.S. zoos. Most of these zoos are in tropical climates (3 in Florida, 3 in California). Two Ohio zoos are the only ones in the Midwest (Columbus and Cleveland).

Legal Aspect In many US states, laws prohibit owning wild animals as pets. As far as keeping koalas is considered, it is illegal to own one. In fact, Australia has banned the export of these animals that are native to the country, except in the case of zoos.

The Australian Koala Foundation says it’s illegal to keep a koala as a pet anywhere in the world. Authorized zoos can keep koalas, and occasionally scientists can keep them. Certain people have permission to temporarily keep sick or injured koalas or orphaned baby koalas, called joeys.

Question: Is it legal to own a koala bear in Texas? Answer: They are not legal to import from Australia. No one has them.

They do not sleep because they are lazy; their bodies are resting but internally working hard to digest their food. Yes, they are a nice and cute cuddly animal but remember they have 1 inch claws for climbing trees!

Koalas have a reputation for being lazy, since they spend anywhere between 18 and 22 hours a day asleep! A lot of this is due to their diet being low in energy, which makes them more sluggish, and the toxins in eucalyptus leaves which take a long time to digest.

Koalas use a range of sounds to communicate with one another over large distances. There is a deep grunting bellow which the male uses to signify its social and physical position. Males save fighting energy by bellowing their dominance, and they also bellow to allow other animals to accurately locate their position.