The koalas live in eastern Australia and range from northern Queensland to southwestern Victoria. Koalas from the southern end of the range are generally larger in size than their northern counterparts. In both areas they exhibit sexual dimorphism with the males being larger. The koala's have a vestigial tail.
Koalas have dense, wooly fur that is gray to brown on top and varies with geographic location.
The coat is generally shorther and lighter in the north of range. The paws are large, and both fore and hind feet have five strongly clawed digits. On the forepaw the first and second digits oppose the other three which enables the koala to grip branches as it climbs. However the bulk of their diet comes from only a few eucalypt species. Koalas have a highly specialized diet in which they eat only 20 of the 350 species of eucalyptus and prefer only 5 species.