Saw a couple days ago a newsblurb on one of our (USA) NBC national network news shows about Koala bears with burnt paws. Because they were caught in forest fires. People are knitting and making little mittens for the Koala bears to protect their paws while they heal. Seems wild koala bears are not too bothered by being handled by humans.

http://www.nbcnews.com/watch/nightly-news/australia-calling-on-knitters-to-help-koalas-heal-burnt-paws-381896259999.

Koalas generally don't mind human interaction though at times they do get stroppy and will scratch the hell out of anyone that annoys them. I was wondering if the koala that Vladimir Putin was cuddling at the G20 summit would teach him a few lessons about international relations. I was hoping it would poop on his suit.

Bush fires are a fact of life here. Because of the cycle of drought - rain - fire - regrowth and back to drought, we usually experience the bad fires in a different state each year. NSW and VIC go halvies in the cost of renting a few Erickson Air-Cranes for the duration of the fire season and loan them to other states and territories on an as needed basis. They are working overtime in the West at the moment, after some duty in Victoria and South Australia.

Possums, wombats, koalas and even kangaroos become victims mostly. Domestic animals and livestock can also be caught. No animal on earth can out run a firestorm (a type of fire accelerated by eucalyptus oil reaching flashpoint and huge updraughts) which can move at more than 100km/h. Birds usually fly away well ahead of the actual danger.

By the way, they are only called koalas in the daytime. At night they turn into dropbears.

Koalas are not bears. They are simply koalas.

I reckon that old question is timely here: How much can a koala bear?

Memo to Austen Tayshsus, et al:

"Koalas are not bears. They are not placental or 'eutherian' mammals, but MARSUPIALS, which means that their young are born immature & they develop further in the safety of a pouch. It’s incorrect to call them ‘Koala bears' - their correct name is simply 'Koalas'." [source: Australian Koala Foundation]

Back when I wad at school I saw a newspaper article in The Sun that some Americans and Canadians were calling koalas 'Qantas bears'. Whether this was true or not, I am not sure though the following article may shed light on things.

http://www.tvacres.com/adanimals_qantasbear.htm.

All in all, it is probably Australia's fault that foreigners call them bears. Though, yes, the truth is they technically aren't, even though they are about the same size as Winnie the Pooh.