... is the scientific name for the Koala.
These little fellas have got a bit of press recently, so I thought I'd write a few things about them by way of background.

Bazza having a nap - image: Lyn Bollen

They get their name from an aboriginal word meaning "no drink". Not strictly true but they do derive 90% of their moisture from eating Eucalypt leaves. They do drink in tough times, particularly very hot or bushfire conditions.They are marsupials, meaning they have a pouch.

Their weight varies across Australia, with heavier individuals living in the colder areas. As a rough guide Males can be 8-12 kilograms, and females 6-9 kilograms...sometimes a bit heavier. They occur in Queensland, NSW, Vic and S.A.

Koalas live in a community or society [like us] and generally have clearly defined areas or territories. They use these areas for feeding and social interaction. The size of these areas is dictated by the amount of food trees present. Areas do overlap, and it is this area that social interaction occurs. These Interaction trees [nightclubs] are particularly important.

Australia has hundreds of species of Eucalypts but only a few are Koala food trees.  In our area favorite trees include Forest Red gum, Tallowood, Grey Gum and spotted gum [E. tereticornis, E. microcorys, E. propinqua, Corymbia citriodora var variegata]. They also feed on other Eucalyptus species and have been observed chewing our local paperbark [Melaleuca quinqinervia], although they would probably prefer Euc's.

Eucalypt leaves are tough, low in nutrition and often poisonous to other animals. One of the ways koalas cope with this is by having a very slow metabolic rate...this allows their digestion system to absorb as much as it can from the leaves. Another trick is to rest a lot...Koalas often sleep up to 18 hrs a day...just like our teenagers.

They are quite strong and very good climbers. To move around they have to get down from their trees [bum first] and waddle across to the next tree. This is often when they get into trouble. Native predators include goannas, dingoes [? native?], powerful owls, wedgetail eagle, and carpet snakes. Introduced predators include dogs, foxes, cats and humans. Cars are the worst offender, with the Australian Koala Foundation estimating that over 4,000 koalas are killed each year by dogs & cars.  They have an excellent website that I have used for some of this information. http://www.thekoala.com/koala/

The intrinsic threat that humans present is through land degradation and particularly fragmentation of habitat. As mentioned the only way koalas can get around is by walking/crawling from tree to tree. That is why I am always banging on about fragmentation. If we can keep parcels of land in larger pieces, and to think about connectivity in the planning stage we can do a lot for the koala...and every other animal too.

Private landowners can play a big part in this too. In the Sunshine Coast Regional Council [SCRC] area Voluntary Conservation Agreements [VCA's] are now available. Contact Dave Burrows on 54851318. 

The State Government also has a program called the Nature Refuge program, which protects land in perpetuity. This is a covenant that is attached to the title deed, and gives long term protection.

My property is a Nature Refuge, and I commend the program to committed tree huggers. The Council also has a number of Nature Refuges, which will definitely help protect the habitat for everything, including Koalas. The other elephant in the room is population pressure. More sub-division means less koala land. Again with planning that takes wildlife corridors into account we can minimise the risk.