The Koala

The Koala Bear needs little description as it so well known.

It is cute and 'teddy bear' like, with fluffy ears and a big black nose.

Of course almost everyone these days knows the 'koala bear' is not a true bear.

The bears belong to a different order of mammals, (the carnivores) and the koalas belong to the order of herbivorous marsupials.

It is covered in soft fur, which tends to be greyer in the north, and more brownish and thicker in the southern part of its range.

The koala lives mainly in the treetops of Eucalpts. It is an animal that is well adapted for life in the trees. Its limbs are quite long, the fingers opposable and the claws are sharp; all excellent adaptations for climbing trees which are often large in girth, or with smooth bark.

where can I find koalas?

The eucalypt woodlands of south-eastern Australia is where most koalas are found.

Their greatest natural abundance is probably around south-eastern Queensland and parts of Victoria, but the best places to find koalas are on some of the islands where they occur in artificially higer populations.

This includes an island well into the tropics, called Magnetic Island, off Townsville, northern Queensland.

But I think the best place of all is Kangaroo Island, off Adelaide, South Australia.

I was once on Kangaroo Island with a zoo group and we spotted a koala within 15 minutes of getting off the plane! On "KI" I have also had them walk past (when they walk, they walk on all fours - and they look like a skinny wombat).

However, koalas can be hard to find. Their grey or brown fur and immobility means they blend into their gum tree background. Look for scratches on tree trunks, and koala scat (poo) at the base of trees. You can also go out at night. They have a little bit of eyeshine, and sometimes you may hear males bellow.

If you are in Melbourne, the carpark at Brisbane Ranges National Park is quite good, although recent bush fires may mean they are harder to find for a few years....(note; I wrote that last sentence a few years ago).

If you couldn't be bothered looking for them, then you might want to get on a tour with Echidna Walkabout with Jeanine and Roger, who know the local koalas quite well.

In fact Jeanine has been drawing and observing koalas for years...
Echidna Walkabout Koala Research