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Cute and cuddly? No, these koalas on Kangaroo Island fight dirty

We think of them as the most docile of Australian animals, but incredible footage of two koalas brawling on Kangaroo Island shows just how vicious they can be.

Two koalas in all-out brawl on Kangaroo Island

Love was definitely not in the air when a male and female koala engaged in a rolling brawl in front of tourists.

The footage was recently captured by Gaylene, a guide for Kangaroo Island Odysseys, at the Hanson Bay Wildlife Sanctuary on the island.

Screeching in rage, the koalas trade blows and wrestle as they descend a tree, then continue lashing out on the ground before one eventually concedes defeat and wanders away to sulk.

Experts at the Department for Environment and Water say the behaviour is typical of koalas during the breeding season, now underway.

“We are pretty sure this is an attempted mating,” the spokeswoman said. “The larger one has a scent gland on the chest, the smaller doesn’t. So the smaller is likely to be a female who is rejecting the attentions of the male.”

And now, please enjoy several other videos of koalas doing either very koala-type things or very unkoala-type things.

Man finds koala in car

See the story here

Precious koala joey emerges from mum’s pouch for the first time
Baby koala recovers from broken arm
Adelaide nurses give a thirsty koala a drink

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Original URL: https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/cute-and-cuddly-no-these-koalas-on-kangaroo-island-fight-dirty/news-story/5434dcb7d79d76aa14177c7b5ec5d511