The scientific name of the koala is Phascolarctos Cinereus, from the Greek for “pouched bear” and “ash gray.” The koala lives in trees, specifically some 35 of the more than 600 species of the genus eucalyptus that grow in Australia. The diet of the adult koala is almost exclusively eucalyptus leaves, and since the oils of eucalyptus leaves are toxic to most other mammals, one wonders what adaptations enable the koala to thrive on them