A Young Koala Has an Epic Meltdown After Being Kicked Out of a Tree

Koalas are iconic Australian animals, loved for their teddy-bear-like appearance. But beneath their soft and seemingly cuddly exterior, they have unique behaviors, a specialized diet, and many critical challenges. One major hurdle for a young koala or joey is leaving its mother to find a new home. This can be particularly difficult if it tries to claim a tree that’s already occupied by another koala. In this YouTube video, a young koala throws a sad tantrum when it picks the wrong fight and gets tossed right out of a tree!

Australia’s Iconic Marsupial

Koalas are often called “koala bears,” but they are not bears at all! They are actually marsupials, which are a type of mammal that carries its young in a pouch. When a baby koala is born, it is not fully developed. It finishes growing within the safety of its mother’s pouch.

Koalas live exclusively in the eucalyptus forests of Australia. Eucalyptus trees are essential to koalas, providing both food and shelter. Eucalyptus leaves are toxic to most other animals, but koalas have a unique digestive system that allows them to eat these leaves. However, digesting these leaves takes a lot of energy, which is why koalas sleep for 18 to 20 hours a day.

How Koalas Interact and Communicate

Koalas are mostly solitary and independent animals. While several koalas might live in the same general area, they usually avoid each other outside of breeding season. Each koala has its own “home range,” which might touch or even overlap with a neighbor’s.

During the breeding season, koalas interact, but usually only one-on-one, not in social groups. They become quite noisy during this time to communicate, and they can be very protective of their territory. Male koalas make a distinct grunting or bellowing sound, which helps them avoid fights and conserve much-needed energy. Females can also bellow, though not as often as males. Both male and female koalas also have a “fear call” that sounds like a baby screaming, which they use when scared. They also communicate by rubbing their scent on trees.

Why Some Trees Are Worth the Fight

Within their territory, koalas have specific “home trees” that they regularly use for sleeping and eating. Although their territories may overlap, koalas never share these home trees or food sources. This means only a limited number of koalas can live in any given area. Koalas mark their trees to claim them and recognize if a tree belongs to another koala by its scent.

Habitat disturbances like fires, new roads and houses, or cutting down trees are a major threat to koalas. Due to these ongoing threats, koalas are now officially listed as endangered in much of their range in Australia. If a koala loses its home tree, it can’t simply move into another tree because it likely already belongs to another koala. Even if a koala dies, other koalas usually will not move into its former home trees until the previous koala’s scent has faded.

In the YouTube video, a younger koala tries to climb and possibly claim an older koala’s home tree. The older koala clearly isn’t happy about this, and even tosses the young one right out of the tree! The young koala is visibly scared and upset, emitting a cry that sounds like a screaming baby. This is a common experience for many young koalas. They leave their mother’s territory after one to three years to find — and sometimes fight for — a new home range.