Signs for KOALA

No sign in ASL. Use the signed loanword from Auslan.

Meaning: A bearlike, sluggish, tailless, gray furry, arboreal marsupial of Australia that feeds on eucalyptus leaves.

Pronunciation (sign description): Two-handed "claw-2" hands (handshape), palms in (orientation), crossed the arms where the hands are in contact with the torso near shoulders (location), fingers rake a bit downward and outward the torso/shoulders twice (movement).

Note: This sign is a loanword from Auslan (Australian Sign Language) in 1999 during the WFD Congress in Brisbane, Australia. Today there may be several different signs from that of 1999.

Fun fact: Koalas are not actually bears but are marsupials related to kangaroos and wombats.

Related signs: KANGAROO, ANIMAL, AUSTRALIA.

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