Koala
Toddler · 2–3A sleepy koala with two enormous fluffy ears and a big soft nose that takes up half its face. The nose is the easiest shape on the page to aim for, and children usually want it darker than the rest — a simple, satisfying contrast. The double-circle ears give a hint of fluff without adding fiddly detail. Coloring a koala is a friendly way to talk about Australia, about animals that sleep most of the day, and about eucalyptus leaves. Grey is the classic choice, but a purple or blue koala is just as welcome here. Print it on A4 or US Letter, or color it online with tap-to-fill.
Round ears and a big nose
A koala's face is dominated by two features — large fluffy round ears and a big dark nose — and both are drawn as separate regions here. Those two details are the whole recognition; the rest of the face is plain grey.
Three regions makes it one of the simpler animal pages, suitable from about two, and the ears are big enough to fill comfortably.
Not a bear
Koalas are marsupials, like kangaroos — the babies are born tiny and grow in a pouch. The koala bear name is a mistake that stuck. They also sleep around twenty hours a day, because eucalyptus leaves provide very little energy, which is the same problem as the panda's and has the same cause.
Frequently asked questions
- Is a koala a bear?
- No — it is a marsupial, more closely related to kangaroos than to bears. The babies are born tiny and develop in a pouch.
- Why do koalas sleep so much?
- Eucalyptus leaves give very little energy and are hard to digest, so koalas conserve what they have by sleeping up to twenty hours a day.
