THEY HAD YOU FOOLED

摘要

The first thing any reliable source says about koala "bears" is that they are not bears; they are marsupials. What is rarely said about these most huggable-looking of all creatures is that they are bad-tempered, dangerous, and not very bright Koalas are territorial, defending their own patch of trees. "Bad-tempered" may be unfair; maybe "extremely defensive" is better. The dangerous quality is that along with the sweet face and fuzzy ears and button nose, koalas come equipped with long, razor-sharp claws on both front and back paws. The claws, adaptations for tree climbing and clinging, can cause gashes requiring stitches. It's always tricky to gauge animal intelligence, but there are dues in the case of the koala. The species (Phascolarctos cinereus) has existed unchanged for 30 million years. (The name comes from the Greek plakoros for "pouch" and, confusingly, arctos, for "bear." Cinereus means "ash-colored.") The species found its narrow niche and apparently saw no need for modification.