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.
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Simon is in Mexico to research the health of thick-billed parrots. Read his previous post, Thick-billed Parrots: Preparing

It would appear, somewhat surprisingly I feel sure you will agree, that there is a distinct lack of Internet signal in the middle of a mountainous forest at 10,000 feet, and my request for it (the Internet) to be installed has hitherto gone unnoticed by the Mexican State authorities. Something about protecting the natural landscape….
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Fred is in Botswana to study elephants with Dr. Mike Chase of Elephants Without Borders. Please read his previous post, Wild Elephants on the Waterfront.

Sometimes, bachelor boy groups get a bad name. But male elephants form bachelor herds that are quite close knit.

Young males generally leave their birth herd and somehow find other males to wander around with. We came across a herd of six boys at a waterhole in the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park. They were not only drinking the water, but also splashing mud all over themselves. Other males slowly came through the bush and joined them.
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You know, there really is a lot to do. We all know that preparing for a vacation can be rather nauseating. That moment when you suddenly realize there are only two days left before you leave, you haven’t even begun to attack the colossal laundry basket or shop for travel-size shampoo, nor have you even selected which book you are going to take (which, of course, you will never read anyway). Well, try preparing for conservation fieldwork!
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It is winter at St. Bees Island, Australia, which means that it is very quiet; the same koalas that bellow through September and October have not yet warmed up their vocal chords, so now is the perfect time to make sure all the recording equipment is working well. (See previous post, Island Koalas: Eating Habits.)
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It was our first week out in the field, and we headed up to the San Jacinto Mountains in the San Bernardino National Forest in Southern California to look for mountain yellow-legged frogs (see Frog Blog 2009). Being my first trip as a summer fellow at the San Diego Zoo’s Institute for Conservation Research, the butterflies were driving me crazy; actually, make that ladybugs. Thousands of ladybugs were swarming through the air during the day; I couldn’t even open my mouth without inhaling one.
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It was almost like the old cowboy movies when the cook rang the triangle to call everyone to eat. But this was a call to drink and bathe. And it was elephants, not cowboys.
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Why am I turtle biologist? I receive this question a lot! As a frequent traveler, I meet a lot of people, and I am always quick to strike up conversations. There is nothing I like to talk about more than to talk about turtles. Almost everyone I meet has a positive response when I say I study freshwater turtles and tortoises, but they all ask, “How did you ever find a career that lets you study turtles?”

I believe it started with my father. I vividly remember him pulling our yellow 1970 VW squareback to the side of the road to pick up a box turtle that was in danger of being crushed by an oncoming car. I remember the thrill of darting around the car to quickly grab the turtle! I think all those junior high gym class: “sprint to grab the chalk board eraser” drills may have come into play. When we arrived home, my father helped me build a small pen for the turtle out of some scrap 2 X 4s. I was instantly enthralled by this animal and its behaviors (or lack thereof). I would sit motionless for long stretches waiting for the turtle to peek out of its shell.
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What a party we had this morning to celebrate two birthday girls! Su Lin’s 4th birthday was yesterday, August 2, and her little sister Zhen Zhen turned two today. As is tradition, each birthday panda received a tiered ice caked filled with their favorite treats (apples, carrots, and bamboo) and drizzled with tempting honey!
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It has been a while since we last updated readers on the status of the mountain yellow-legged frog Rana muscosa recovery program at the San Diego Zoo’s Institute for Conservation Research (see post, Frog Blog). The long-term goal of the program is to reintroduce the offspring of our managed-care colony back into the wild to supplement the critically endangered Southern California population of mountain yellow-legged frogs.
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