Koalas in Latin America? No—They're Only in Australia

Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) are endemic to Australia. They live exclusively in eucalyptus forests along the eastern and southeastern coasts: Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia.

Latin America—spanning Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America—has no native koala populations. Its marsupial fauna is entirely different (opossums, shrew opossums, monitos del monte). Koalas are not found in any Latin American zoo or sanctuary outside of extremely rare, specialized conservation loans (which are virtually nonexistent).

Any claim of wild koalas in Latin America is a myth. They are an Australian icon—evolutionarily, ecologically, and geographically.