Koalas Will often be called bears, but this is a misnomer. Whilst their scientific genus, Phascolarctos, translates as "pouched bear", koalas aren't customers from the bear, or Ursidae household.thirteen Koalas are actually much more closely related to kangaroos, bandicoots and possums than real bears. Koalas are marsupial mammals, which means waiting for link from Article Directories (7)