The Koalas of Sydney

There is a myth that koalas are cute, cuddly quiet animals. Not so, it is not a domesticated animal even if it does reside in a zoo or wild life park. The koala has powerful curved sharp claws and sharp teeth that can inflect some nasty injuries. Like any animal, a koala will certainly try to defend itself when threatened.

The visitor would love to pose with one with its arms around its neck; but in Sydney, holding a koala is no longer permissible.

A koala is not a bear, but a marsupial. Female koalas usually become sexually mature around two years, males also the same period, but do not attain physical maturity until three or four years of age.  Like kangaroos, females  carry their young in a pouch. The pouch contains two nipples and after conception has occurred, a lining of a black greasy substance commences which is to lubricate the un-furred joey’s skin and has antibiotic properties to keep the joey clean. Female koalas are excellent mothers, and are highly protective of their young.

 It is the largest tree-climbing mammal in Australia. Each animal has its own “home range” where it lives on leaves of the eucalyptus tree. The “home range” is the koala’s territory and includes a specific location on a particular tree that they choose. All the home ranges of each animal overlap to some degree and, though males do fight during breeding season, they do not actively march up and down defending their territory.

Most koalas have very soft thick grey fur and fluffy ears that give them that “teddy bear” appearance. Adult koalas sitting on the ground look approximately the same size and shape as an 18-month old human toddler. Koala fur is considered the most insulated of all marsupial fur and is remarkably waterproof. Koala eyes are brown and cat-like with their noses being prominent, black and leathery. Their sense of hearing and smell is excellent and critical to their survival. Koalas greet and recognize others by their smell. They use their highly sensitive nose to locate eucalypt leaf that is choice and palatable. Weight of males is about 11.6 kilos, females 7.8 kilos.

Their hands and feet are well adapted to both the climbing of trees and grabbing at branches to access leaves. Their hands have three fingers and two opposing thumbs to ensure a good grip with each digit equipped with long sharp, curved claws. This is evident in high winds when the koala effortlessly perches high in the swaying branches.

The word koala comes from the aboriginal “no drink.” When climatic conditions are good, eucalyptus leaf carries enough moisture to sustain koalas’ daily needs. In dry season however, the koala needs go to ground to find water because the leaf moisture content can be very low. This is one reason why most koala populations tend to be near water courses where tree moisture is better.

Their day is usually made up of 19 hours of sleep in the eucalyptus tree; the remaining five hours are spent in locating food and eating it.

The number one threat to the koala is loss of habitat… no tree, no koala. As more and more forested areas are removed for housing developments, the more pressure this places on the koala population.  If their “homes” are threatened, then also is the diversity of other flora and fauna that share the same ecosystem. As habitat is removed, the koala population will spiral down.

In Sydney, I was fortunate to go to a preserve where koalas were in their trees resting, but at a particular time, they were brought down to be viewed and photographed. I was able to capture the face up close, as shown here. My model was not overly excited, and would have preferred to finish her beauty nap. As soon as our photo shoot was completed, she was put back in her location in the tree, where she chewed a leaf or two, pooped, and then went back to sleep.

Australian friends presented me with Certificate of Adoption of a wild koala. She had been brought to the Koala Hospital from her wild habitat in the woods with a conjunctive eye infection, called Chlamydia, in both eyes. Her name was Ellenborough Nancy, and her photo proved she was a beauty. Her bio said she came from a region deeply forested and sparsely populated; a region in which koalas rarely encountered human beings. This made her particularly wild and less accepting of humans, even though the treatment was designed to help them.

 

The bio went on to say it was particularly difficult for volunteers to carry out the daily cleaning of her unit. Most adult wild koalas will accept human medical treatment if brought in for disease or injury, but some remain fearful and in a “wild state.” The majority of wild koalas will revert back to their wild state when released back into their home range areas.

 The consensus was she was neither a happy camper nor a cooperative one, and would swipe at as many volunteers as she could  if she felt they had overstayed their welcome. She was eventually cured, but was wild to the very end. On the day of her release, she was brought into the treatment room for customary final weigh-in. When the canvas bag in which she was placed was put on the scales, she poked her head out the top and the handlers did their best to contain her just long enough to get the scale reading. The consensus was “The sooner we got this wild thing back to her wilds, the better.” She was returned to her home (tree) cured, and was sighted by a volunteer a week later in the same area happily munching a leaf in the same tree in which she had been released.

 

I have the certificate displayed in my home, and point with delight to other friends that an adopted daughter awaits my visit to Ellenborough.