Western Koala Experience
Posted at 4:32 pm September 15, 2009 by Bill Ellis
Koalas are widespread across Queensland, Australia, so my travels can take me far and wide researching this unique animal. On the way to St. Bees Island in August, I traveled west to Clermont, in central Queensland, to help a research team from the University of Queensland investigating how koalas use the drier parts of their range. Clermont is about 250 miles due west of St. Bees Island (my study site, see post Island Koalas: A New Season). It is a mining and rural area, with many large cattle and cropping properties spread out across the plains. Koalas in that area use a variety of trees, from the tea trees (Melaleuca) and brigalow (Acacia) that they rest in during the day, to the large coolabahs, poplar box, and blue gums (Eucalyptus) that they eat, mostly at night.
The research at Clermont is focused around what the koalas are doing in the post-mining landscapes, and I was helping Dr. Sean FitzGibbon track, catch, and collar koalas that use the rehabilitated areas of one of the coal mines in the district. Sean has been using the same technology that we use at St. Bees Island (GPS collars) to follow his koalas, and he has found some very interesting information. Recently he has discovered that koalas from nearby areas have made short trips into the revegetation on his study site. The koalas come from the adjacent bush land, spend several days in the new areas of forest (with trees less than 30 feet tall) and then go back to the native bush. After a period, they repeat this, so Sean is trying to find out if the koalas are just investigating the new bush, if they are eating the trees there, or if they are looking for mates in these patches.
This is very exciting news for koala researchers, because no one knows how old forests have to be before koalas will start to use them, or whether old mine sites could really be suitable for koalas in the long term. The areas that Sean has found koalas using were planted with Eucalyptus trees about 13 years ago.
I got to meet several of Sean’s koalas on this trip, and although I am attached to my study animals at St. Bees Island, I certainly do have respect for the koalas of the west. These animals survive through very harsh, hot, and dry summers, traveling long distances (up to half a mile each night), and have to survive among the farms and mines of central Queensland. I’m pictured above releasing Rollie, a large male we found on what we think was his first trip into the rehabilitation at Clermont. He was a very big male who was quite happy to get back up his tree after Sean removed his collar to collect the data.
It was really interesting to visit koalas that live such a different life to the coastal and island koalas I am more used to these days. They are so spread out among the woodlands and along the creek-lines that it seems like you will never find them. But there they are, quietly going about their business. I certainly hope that the people out west plant more trees for them in the future.
Bill Ellis is a Clark Endowed Postdoctoral Research Fellow for the San Diego Zoo’s Institute for Conservation Research.
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September 16th, 2009 at 11:54 am
Is this near where all the fires were not too long ago? I remember poor little Sam the koala survived the fire only to die from some ailment they said was quite common in koalas. They are an under appreciated species in my opinion. Each adorable face is so unique. However, I must say observing them in a zoo can be quite difficult. They tend not to cooperate with the zoo visitor.
September 16th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
I so enjoy hearing about anything “Bear”!!
Nothing is easy for any of the bears (Koala, Polar, Giant Panda etc.) trying to survive in a natural habitat. What are we doing to this planet Earth?
Thank goodness there are people like Bill who’s passion to study these animals will ultimately help the animals in the long term (we all hope and pray).
Thank you Bill, for your post and your dedication!
September 17th, 2009 at 4:05 am
Hi Deb, Hi Joan, thanks for the comments. These areas that I visited are a long way to the north of the disastrous fires in Victoria, but just like those koalas, these ones have a tough life to survive. At least it may help to know that observing koalas in the wild is not much easier than it is in the zoo: they like to hide and you have to be very patient when watching them!
September 17th, 2009 at 4:30 am
I agree with Joan, we need more people like honest Bill to save the koala. Keep up the good work
It looks like you are giving Rollie a hug! Can you still hug the wild ones Bill?
September 17th, 2009 at 9:31 am
thanks for the update Bill..what is the expectant life span? when does their joeys leave their mamas? they do eat veges?
September 22nd, 2009 at 3:02 am
Hi Sven and Lid,
It’s not wise to hug a wild koala: I was letting Rollie out of the bag in that photo. Our female koalas at St. Bees Island live for over ten years, but the males are lucky to make 7 or 8. The young joeys leave their mothers at the end of their first year in the wild.
September 24th, 2009 at 9:35 am
I was wondering if you could comment on Chlamydia eye disease in the wild population you are studying. Is this a widespread problem?
September 28th, 2009 at 1:30 am
Hi Bill, Fantastic to see all the work you have done with koalas over the years, lots of interesting stuff using technology. Must be great to go out to the islands to continue with your ongoing research. Enjoyed your blog about the floods in Lismore, was an exciting week for us here in Northern NSW. Could do with some of that rain now. Instead we’ve got dust storms. Great to to be able to follow your work. Best wishes this week!
September 28th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
Hi Kate,
I am not working on Chlamydial infection specifically these days, because it is not a major issue at my island sites – we have not had a koala with an eye infection there for quite a few years. There are a few groups of people working on the disease, and one team is investigating the role of the Koala Retrovirus (KORV) in Chlamydial infection across the distribution of koalas. Although the infection is widespread, the effects of the disease are not uniform between groups of koalas, so there may be other factors, such as stress or the KORV that mediate the impact of the infection. It is an important area for research, and we plan on incorporating this research into our program in 2010 and beyond to look closely at the viability of our study groups.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
Hi Deborah,
Thanks for the comment – and I hope you get some moderate rain instead of the flooding stuff.
September 29th, 2009 at 6:07 pm
There is an article on msnbc ‘Stress disease killing Australia’s koalas. As people move in, cuddly critters are falling victim to chlamydia’. I was so depressed after reading it. I had no idea they were struggling so.