koala vs Красный ара

Phascolarctos cinereus compared with Ara macao

Key Differences

• koala is Vulnerable while Красный ара is Least Concern.
• koala is 10.0x heavier than Красный ара.
• Красный ара lives longer (50 years vs 15 years).

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	koala	Красный ара
Kingdom same	Animalia (животные)	Animalia (животные)
Phylum same	Chordata (хордовые)	Chordata (хордовые)
Class	Mammalia (млекопитающие)	Aves (птицы)
Order	Diprotodontia (двурезцовые сумчатые)	Psittaciformes (попугаеобразные)
Family	Phascolarctidae (Koalas)	Psittacidae (True Parrots)
Genus	Phascolarctos (Koalas)	Ara (Macaws)
Species	Phascolarctos cinereus	Ara macao

Evolutionary Relationship

koala and Красный ара share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (хордовые)

Conservation Status

koala

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~100.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Красный ара

LC — Least Concern

Population: ~50.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	koala	Красный ара
Diet	Herbivore	Herbivore
Average Lifespan	15 years	50 years
Average Length	75 cm	85 cm
Average Weight	10.0 kg	1.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

koala

Habitat

Typically found in grasslands, forests, and vegetated habitats.

Range

Found in Australia. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Красный ара

Habitat

Typically found in grasslands, forests, and vegetated habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (5 countries) and South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela). Population trends indicate a declining trajectory in parts of its range.

koala

Iconic marsupial of eastern and southeastern Australia, koalas weigh up to 15 kg and spend up to 22 hours daily sleeping to conserve energy from their low-calorie eucalyptus leaf diet. Highly specialized to process toxic eucalyptus compounds that would kill most other mammals, they have gut microbiomes uniquely adapted for detoxification. Listed as Endangered in 2022, with populations decimated by chlamydia disease, habitat clearing, and climate change.

Красный ара

One of the most brilliantly colored birds in the Americas, scarlet macaws display vivid red, yellow, and blue plumage with wingspans reaching 1 meter. Found in humid lowland forests from Mexico to Bolivia, they are highly intelligent, long-lived — up to 75 years — and form lifelong pair bonds. They travel long distances to clay licks where they consume mineral-rich soil to detoxify seeds. Listed as Least Concern but locally threatened by habitat loss and the pet trade.