Smelly Koalas
Posted at 3:14 pm April 19, 2006 by Jennifer Tobey
Normally, if you tell someone they smell it is not a compliment, but in the world of koalas, males tend to be quite smelly this time of year in the hopes that females might take notice of them. March through May marks the breeding season for koalas and there are signs that things are in full swing at the San Diego Zoo’s koala barn. One of those signs is that the male koalas’ scent glands are in high production.
Now let me back up here! I am collecting data, with the help of the koala keepers, on the 30 koalas at the Zoo. I will be periodically updating you on what I am finding out about the mating system of koalas and any other fun information that I glean from the data I collect. For starters I thought it would be good to talk about the collection of scent samples, since you might catch me or one of the keepers doing this out in the koala yards.
Have you ever noticed the dark and dirty looking patch of fur on the chest of a male koala? Maybe not, since they love to curl up and sleep, but the next time you are watching them try to take a peek at their chests (see photo of male koala Jannali). This gland secretes an oily and smelly substance and my task is sampling those scent glands. This is done quite easily by taking a sterile cotton swab and rubbing it over the gland to get some of the oil. Ironically, the males tend to like this! They usually push into the cotton swab, making it even easier for me to collect my sample. Their enjoyment probably stems from the chemicals that make up the scent, predominantly acids. No, these is not your burning your skin off types of acids, but they are probably a little itchy and they are what gives the male koala his unique smell. And smelly they are!
Once the samples are collected they are sent off for analysis in order to get a chemical profile. And what we have found is that the males have a lot more chemicals, like those acids I mentioned, in their scent profile in the spring than in the fall. This might not seem life shattering, but in the world of koala breeding it probably plays a vital role in their finding a mate.
Jennifer Tobey is a Research Fellow in the Behavioral Biology Division of CRES.
Here’s more information about Jennifer’s study.
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April 20th, 2006 at 5:46 am
i think that is great
April 21st, 2006 at 4:52 am
Very cool, Jennifer. I was very fortunate to hold a koala named Basil for a few minutes in Australia a few years ago. The keeper placed him carefully on my clasped arms. It was an opportunity of a lifetime. I also always thought of koalas as quiet, docile animals…until I visited the night zoo! Wow, those males can make some noise and climb up and down trees in a hurry.
Thank you for sharing your studies with us!
May 13th, 2006 at 3:30 pm
i think that is wonderful, jennifer
June 10th, 2006 at 10:31 am
I am going into the seventh grade this fall and ever since I was in the first grade I have been wanting to help the koalas because they are endangered. Is there any way I can help?
June 22nd, 2006 at 9:56 pm
Hi Jennifer,
Aren’t some of the places around their head that housecats like to be petted the very places they rub against objects in their environment to mark them with their scent? Cats will manoeuvre their bodies when I am petting them to bring those areas into contact with my fingers. I’ve always imagined that evolution has led in cats to pleasurable feelings being associated with rubbing stimulation of those cat areas. Couldn’t a similar mechanism be operative in male koalas?
– Ani
September 10th, 2006 at 1:57 am
I think it’s great to share interesting infomation about Australia’s unique Koalas