Greetings! My name is Maressa Takahashi, a fourth-year student at the University of California, Berkeley. I am majoring in biology with an emphasis on animal behavior, and I am excited to be working with Dr. Fred Bercovitch and Jen Tobey of the Behavioral Biology Division at the San Diego Zoo. This summer, you can find me at the San Diego Zoo observing my research animal, generally spotted as a fuzzy gray ball perched in a eucalyptus tree.

If you thought koala, correct! I have the lucky opportunity to be studying this ambassador species from Australia. Two projects divide my time here at the Zoo. First, I am studying the activity budget and estrous cycle of a female koala, Cooladi. She lives in an off-exhibit area so that I can collect urine samples from her. I analyze the urine to determine hormone levels that indicate whether or not she is in estrus, which is a phase also known as “heat” or “rut” in animals. In fact, the term comes from the Latin word for “frenzy,” because some female animals pick up the pace of their activity while in estrus. I want to see if koala females do the same. I will be looking to see if any changes in her activity levels correspond to stages of estrus. Many animals search for a mate by spending more time moving and less time eating. Also, male koalas have both sound (see the blog, Motorcycles and Koalas) and scent (see the blog, Male Koalas Smell Like Goats?!) signals that advertise their presence during the breeding season and females might be attracted to those males.

If you have been to the Zoo recently, you might have noticed a few koala additions to the exhibit, specifically the large enclosure in the corner. It houses three female koalas that were introduced to the public a few weeks ago. My second project is to monitor their adjustment to their new home by noting behaviors and locations in the enclosure throughout the day. Although most people think that koalas are only active at night, they are also active during dawn and dusk. However, the term “active” is only in the koala sense! Koalas sleep for 18 to 20 hours each day. For the few hours they are awake, they usually while away the time eating or watching their surroundings placidly from a perch. My study looks for patterns in their behavior in response to the visiting public. One interesting behavior is already apparent. One of our females, Yabber, usually sits on the metal awning beam at the back of the enclosure. From this vantage point, she can spy on all the cars passing through the parking lot on the other side of the wall! She seems to be adjusting to the big wide world just fine!

I will be at the Zoo all summer collecting data at the koala exhibit. Check back for more updates on Cooladi, Yabber, and the other girls.

Maressa Takahashi is a Neeper Summer Student Fellow in the Behavioral Biology Division at the San Diego Zoo.

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