Koala
Introductions
G’day, Mate! I’m Blinky, a 7-year-old koala bloke1. Many people think we koalas spend our lives stoned, but I’d like to start by busting that myth. While we do sleep a lot, we snap to attention quickly when disturbed. Plus, we’re so much more than our snoozing habits. For example, koala mums are super affectionate and will even adopt an orphan in distress!
As an adult male, I outweigh the sheilas by a few pounds (my 30 to their 24 or 14 kilograms to 11). I’m usually a totally mellow bloke but being the most dominant male in my neighborhood grants me just the right koala-fications to tell you all about being a koala.
1 For those of you that are not acquainted with the land down under, a bloke is a male and a sheila is a female.
Fast Facts
Where We Live
We live in Australia’s eucalypt forests in the states of Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria.
IUCN Status
At our last assessment in 2014, we were deemed vulnerable. More recently, our native Australia classified us as endangered, primarily due to:
- Habitat loss and fragmentation
- Bushfires, which climate change is exacerbating
- Infectious disease
- Road accidents and dog attacks.
Celebrity Koala
Koala Clancy lives near Melbourne in the You Yangs. He has starred in several documentaries, has 46,000 Facebook followers, and his birthday is celebrated as Wild Koala Day.
Read more about Koala Clancy on his Foundation’s website.
International Wild Koala Day is May 3rd
(aka Koala Clancy’s birthday)!
Fun Fact
We each have
individual handprints that look very much like yours.
Koala Social Structure
Koala social structure depends on how many koalas call the neighborhood their home. Because I live in a forest with plenty of other koalas, our home ranges overlap. To make sure we maintain enough space between us, we communicate using scent. That’s why we often
sniff a tree before climbing it If another koala has marked the tree or left their scent on it, we cede it to them. I leave my scent on trees in my home range too. The odor lasts for weeks, and sometimes even months before I need to scent mark it again.
Growing Up Koala
In the Beginning
I was born looking for the world like a pink jellybean with arms. I had no teeth, eyes, ears, or fur. Relying on instinct and using my sense of smell and touch, I moved across Mum’s belly to her pouch. When I got there, I latched onto a teat. It swelled to fill my mouth, so I’d remain firmly anchored in my new home.
By seven weeks, I was the size of a bumblebee and my face was starting to form. My eyes had opened and I had a sparse covering of fur by my 3-month birthday. And shortly before I hit six months, I had let go of Mom’s teat and was finally big enough to peer out of my pouch By then, I had my fur coat and was roughly the size of a banana. That was also when I added pap to my diet. Basically, it’s a mushy, protein-rich substance that’s similar to Mum’s poop. It contains the gut bacteria needed to digest eucalyptus and she produces it when I nuzzle her bottom. Two weeks later, I made my my first trip out of my pouch I clung tightly to Mum’s chest while I sampled my first leaves.
Out of the Pouch and Into the World
Slowly, I made more trips to the outside world and gained strength. I left my pouch behind when I was 9 months old and instead traveled on Mum’s back. Eventually I started making short solo excursions. I used little high-pitched squeaks to stay connected with Mum and she would squeak or grunt back to me, so I’d know she was nearby. That was a special time for Mum and me, and I have no doubt she thoroughly enjoyed our time together. I fondly remember when I positioned myself on a narrow branch that could hold my weight but not hers. She would pull the branch to her and every time she got close to me, I’d scamper a little higher in the tree to where I was just out of reach again. Lather, rinse, repeat, haha!
On my first birthday, I stopped drinking Mum’s milk (and pap) and focused on eucalypt leaves. Gradually, although I remained close to Mum for another year, we started spending more time apart. By the time I was two years old, she was tending to a new joey, so it was time to depart. At first, I stayed in Mum’s home range but within a year, I set off to claim my own space.
Eucalypt Specialist
My diet of eucalyptus leaves would be toxic for anyone else – it’s like cyanide. I have a unique organ (the caecum) to detoxify them, along with my special gut bacteria from pap.
Adulting, Koala Style
The Nomad Years
I was a nomad for the next three years while I grew bigger and stronger, often having to rely on less nutritious leaves. During my travels, I sometimes got too big for my britches and tried to share a tree with a bigger male. Some of them knocked me knocked me to the ground. Rude! It scared me so much the first few times, that I started wailing and then ran away. But as I got bigger, I was able to stay in trees with better leaves. Yay me!
Claiming a Territory
Over time, I moved 11 miles (18 kilometers) away from Mum’s range, claiming 20 trees in my new forest neighborhood. I marked them with my claws and left a little urine at the base. By then, the scent gland in my chest oozed a musky liquid that I rubbed on the trees as I climbed. (Only us blokes have them.). My trees overlap with several other males and females, so I don’t consider the area to be mine exclusively. But I still put the younger males in their place and let them know when it’s time to move on, particularly during mating season
Claiming a Sheila
When I was 4 years old, I noticed the sheilas. The spring-like weather in August inspired me to emit a bellow, which sounds like a snore followed by resonant growling. I’m normally so adorable but that was not a cute noise! Other males in the neighborhood were also bellowing, as the calls echoed around our forest. Each of us has a distinct voice, with larger males of any age producing lower frequency sounds. Other koalas can assess our size from afar so blokes can avoid fighting larger blokes and sheilas can home in on their mate of choice.
Initially, every sheila I approached smacked me away. But a month later, things started to change. Not only were the blokes advertising their presence, but the sheilas started responding with bellows of their own and one was getting closer! Ricola found me and we shared a branch for a little while and a very brief amorous encounter. She had traveled over a mile (2.6 kilometers) to find me, but she didn’t linger. Because we koalas love our space, she went back to her own trees straight away.
The next season I met and had brief dalliances with two sheilas, Hallsy and Luden. The following season I reunited with Ricola. She selects who she mates with, so I was glad she chose me — I’d much rather spend time with a partner I already know. She said she was taking care of our joey, Smitty, the prior year and stayed home with him.
Living the “Koala-ty” Life
Blokes like me tend to live 12 years, so I have lots of life ahead of me. Sheilas tend to live a little longer, about 15 years. I guess not getting pushed out of trees by older, bigger blokes has its advantages. Either way, I’m going to live a “koala-ty” life filled with sleeping, eating, and grooming! Keep reading to learn more about how I spend a typical day.
Koala Comms
We bellow to let others know our location, like when I change trees. In addition to bellows, we wail when we’re hurt or scared (like when the larger bloke picked on me). And when I feel threatened, I make a hissing sound.
Koala Comms
In addition to vocalizations, our body language also signals how we’re feeling. You can tell I’m anxious when I flick my ears back and forth. And when I meet another koala, like Ricola, we greet each other with a gentle nose bump.
A Typical Day for Me as an Adult
OK. I’ll just say it. I sleep a lot during a typical day – 18 to 20 hours a day to be exact. I like to wedge myself into a shade tree’s v-shaped fork, between the trunk and the branches. And as luck would have it, I have a built-in seat cushion in the form of rough skin and extra plush fur on my rump.
I Love the Night Life
I wake up around dusk, as the evening cools. My first task is to move from my shaded spot to a eucalypt tree so I can tend to my munchies. Some might consider me finicky since I only eat from five kinds of eucalypt trees, but I picked up my culinary preferences from the best – my Mum.
By 9:00 p.m. I’ve started my din-din. I have an excellent sense of smell and sniff each eucalypt leaf before deciding whether to tug it free and chomp down. My technique helps me avoid the most poisonous leaves. I eat for 25 minutes and then groom myself for the next half hour, using my paw to comb through my coat. Then I nosh for another 25 minutes and take a break for a Power Nap. When I rouse, I take time to observe what’s going on around me. Over the next several hours, I’ll enjoy eight short intervals of dining, with my munchie sessions getting progressively shorter. By the end of the evening, I eat one pound (500 grams) of leaves.
Settling in for the Day
Before dawn breaks, I move to a new, shaded tree to sleep. My favorite perches feature a view of the park’s walking trail so I can watch what’s going on from the security of my tree. It makes me nervous to be on the ground, so I often jump between trees when the gap is less than several yards (meters) wide. When that’s not possible, I hop along on the ground and just focus on getting to the next tree. Over the course of a week, I move 35 yards (32 meters).
Cooler times of the year are my favorite. My coat is very thick and protects me from the cold and rain. I don’t shed, though, so I have trouble cooling down when it gets too hot. On those days, I sprawl across a high branch on my belly and dangle my arms and legs down. I think that’s why I love rainy days because the temperature is more to my liking.
Appreciating the Simple Life
Overall, my typical days are pretty simple. I sleep, I eat, I groom. But sometimes I find myself in a new circumstance. Like one time when the rainy season lasted longer than usual, and I had to dog paddle my way across a river. I’m a decent swimmer but as luck would have it, a canoe approached. I hauled myself aboard, trusting that the humans would understand my plight. They did and happily steered me to the other side. Another time after I was back on dry land, a mare (!) found me. It was during the day, so I was very sleepy. But as she nuzzled me, I reached out and stroked her. Sometimes it’s nice to find new mates.
Sleepy Time Tea
My diet is the reason I sleep so much — the eucalypt leaves don’t provide much energy, and my body needs to rest while it removes the toxins. Even though I mostly sleep my days away, I will move to a new tree if I get too hot or cold or if something disturbs my beauty rest. For example, acacia trees are cooler than other trees, which allows me to transfer my heat to the tree.
How To Help Us
We are impacted by the typical Terrestrial Threats. For example, we’ve lost 80% of our habitat so supporting reforestation helps. Much of our forest area is privately owned so you can help the organizations trying to purchase the land or negotiate on our behalf. Also, during the 2019-2020 season, bushfires wiped out 60,000 koalas or nearly 30% of us. Climate change is escalating the magnitude of these natural disasters so you can also help by limiting your carbon footprint. Click here to see some suggestions on actions you can take as an individual. Finally, koala hospitals tend to us when we get sick, hit by a car, bitten by a dog, or otherwise hurt. And if you happen to run across us in the wild, please stay a respectful distance away.
Returning the Favor
Since you’re considering helping us, I’d like to return the favor. It’s easy to add koala-ty to your life by adopting some elements of our lifestyle. Koalas like to keep it simple. When your life gets stressful, try focusing on a few basic things like eating, sleeping, and grooming. We’re also not to be rushed. Consider slowing down from time to time to just observe the world around you.
For more information on koalas, read Danielle Clode’s Koala: A Natural History and an Uncertain Future or check out the Friends of the Koala website. If you’d like to see them in person, your best bet is to visit Australia’s Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, Taronga Zoo, or Australia Zoo. If you are in the United States, you can visit koalas at the San Diego Zoo or check out their koala cam.
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References
Australian Koala Foundation. (2020). Life Cycle of the Koala. https://www.savethekoala.com/about-koalas/life-cycle-koala/
Clode, D. (2023). Koala: A Natural History and an Uncertain Future. WW Norton & Company.
Dargan, J. R., Moriyama, M., Mella, V. S., Lunney, D., & Crowther, M. S. (2019). The Challenge for Koala Conservation on Private Land: Koala Habitat Use Varies with Season on a Fragmented Rural Landscape. Animal Conservation, 22(6), 543-555.
Department of Environment, Science and Innovation, Queensland Government. (2024, May 22). Koala Facts. https://environment.desi.qld.gov.au/wildlife/animals/living-with/koalas/facts
Ellis, W., Bercovitch, F., Fitzgibbon, S., Roe, P., Wimmer, J., Melzer, A., & Wilson, R. (2011). Koala Bellows and Their Association with the Spatial Dynamics of Free-ranging Koalas. Behavioral Ecology, 22(2), 372-377.
Friends of the Koala. (2024). About Koalas. https://friendsofthekoala.org/about-koalas/
Kalman, B. (2012). The Life Cycle of a Koala. Crabtree Publishing Company.
Marsh, L. (2014). Koalas. National Geographic Kids.
Martin, R., & Handasyde, K. A. (1999). The Koala: Natural History, Conservation and Management. UNSW Press.
Ryan, M. A., Whisson, D. A., Holland, G. J., & Arnould, J. P. (2013). Activity Patterns of Free-ranging Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) Revealed by Accelerometry. PloS one, 8(11), e80366.
Watchorn, D. J., & Whisson, D. A. (2019). Quantifying the Interactions Between Koalas in a High-Density Population During the Breeding Period. Australian Mammalogy, 42(1), 28-37. CSIRO PUBLISHING | Australian Mammalogy
World Wildlife Fund UK. (2023, August 21). Top 10 Facts About Koalas. https://www.wwf.org.uk/learn/fascinating-facts/koala