Island Koalas: Meet Orbit
Posted at 8:17 am October 1, 2009 by Bill Ellis
Little Orbit meets his admirers.
We were heading up to the very top of the knoll, where Elizabeth can usually be found, tracking her radio signal when one of the volunteers shouted, “I can see one.” There was a pause and then “She has a baby on her back.” I was excited, because I was hoping to find Elizabeth healthy and with her young, and there she was, in a 33-foot (10-meter) blue gum, looking down at us…with a small furry face peering over her shoulder as well.
We were able to encourage her down the tree using our usual flag-waving technique; we simply wave rags and plastic bags (attached to long poles) above the koala’s head while remaining very quiet below. Distracted (and probably annoyed), the koala descends the tree and we grab it when it is low enough. On this occasion we got two for one, with the little koala attaching himself to one of the volunteer’s legs (fortunately long pants were worn) when we placed Mum in a bag.
Elizabeth has put on weight since her last capture, which is interesting, considering she has to carry the extra weight of a young koala around all day and night. She was in very good condition, which is great news since she is over nine years old. Orbit (her baby) weighs about 28 ounces (800 grams) right now and will probably stay with her for a few more months. Elizabeth has had mostly male babies, and this was another one.
We replaced Elizabeth’s VHF collar with one of the GPS collars we received through the San Diego Zoo’s Ocelots program funding, so now we will be able to monitor her movement every four hours for the next five months, even when we are not at St. Bees. During this trip we’ve deployed ten such collars, six on females and four on males.
After examining Elizabeth and Orbit, we set them free and they climbed back up the tree to resume resting and eating, with Orbit clinging on to his Mum’s back. It was a great day for us, but I guess the little koala is wondering what it was all about.
Bill Ellis is a Clark Endowed Postdoctoral Research Fellow for the San Diego Zoo’s Institute for Conservation Research.
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October 1st, 2009 at 9:58 am
lol omg that is sooo cute!! thanks for the update Bill !! I am so happy elizabeth is still alive and doing what she do best make more babies!! so their population can thrive…..I guess they don’t bite at all? I know they have killer claws..well atleast you can come home and let the stress and worry go away
October 1st, 2009 at 10:21 am
How/why did his name, “Orbit,” get selected? Very cute! Congratulations on all your successful research.
October 1st, 2009 at 1:16 pm
Heh…if that’s not the cutest little bundle of fluff
October 1st, 2009 at 4:30 pm
ohhh he’s soooo cute! Although I’m glad I don’t have to choose whether koala or panda babies are cuter, because I wouldn’t be able to! Orbit looks like a cuddly stuffed toy in that picture. I just want to snuggle him.
October 1st, 2009 at 11:44 pm
Congratulations to Elizabeth. Orbit – Name of a chewing gum over here. Gum; koala, gum tree? Could that be the reason?!
October 2nd, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Aha, those of us in North America would never have thought of “Orbit” meaning gum. Thanks, Susan (UK).
I think Orbit has just the most perfect little koala face I’ve ever seen. He’s precious.
October 2nd, 2009 at 7:42 pm
Thanks for all the comments folks, and on the main topic, the name, well it’s pretty simple. My policy, when we are catching koalas, is that the first volunteer to actually touch the koala gets to name it. This works in two ways: it keeps the volunteers keen to help and get in close when they are needed (which they are) and also it saves me from having to think up new names all the time. Some of the names are a little obscure; in this case we were discussing how the small koalas leave Mum but stay near by, and Ben (the volunteer) said it was sort of “in orbit” like a satellite, and the name stuck. And yes, he is extremely cute!
October 4th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
Orbit is so cute!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank goodness Elizabeth is still alive!!!
October 5th, 2009 at 11:54 am
yes he is cute!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
October 7th, 2009 at 6:18 am
This is the first time I have learned about the zoo and the live cams and all! how wonderful! I am hooked completely! I love watching the live cams of the panda and I adore the kaola’s. Orbit is the perfect anme for this little guy! How cute!