Why is a koala bear called a koala bear if it's a marsupial?

This is a difficult question to answer as koalas should not be called koala bears at all mostly due to the simple reason that they are not bears even in the slightest. It should also be noted that there is not an actual creature that is officially called a koala bear. read more

A koala is not called a koala bear except by the ill-informed. The original source appears to be American, because of a perceived resemblance to teddy bears. It does seem to have become more widespread though. But Australians do not call it a bear. We know better. read more

As for why anyone would refer to them as such comes down to either being incorrectly informed that they are called koala bears or just plain ignorant. To give the issue some perspective humans are closer related to bears than koalas are, so if you anyone reading this call koalas a koala bear, please stop. read more