Koalas aren’t primates, but they move like monkeys in trees

Climbing high in tree branches, the iconic marsupial is Australia’s answer to primates

koalas

Australia doesn’t have monkeys, but who cares? Koalas have specialized in tree climbing and even evolved a gait similar to primates.

Kate Berry

Koalas could be Australia’s take on monkeys and apes.

Pudgy, big-eared koalas are celebrity marsupials, nurturing teensy young in pouches as a kangaroo does. In koalas’ home trees, however, “we found they’re actually not moving like other marsupials,” says Christofer Clemente of University of the Sunshine Coast in Sippy Downs, Australia.