We’ve never been so excited to be covered in meerkat saliva, koala fur, feeling the smooth scales of crocodiles and snakes ...

The "koala bear" label came from early European settlers ... these tree-huggers bulk up like they're prepping for a snowstorm—thick fur, chunky builds, the whole cozy package.

The koala is clinging to a chain-link fence, its fur snagged in horizontal strands of barbed wire. Towering eucalyptus trees, as pale as ghosts, rise on the far side of the fence. “He was ...