On a beautiful, bright sunny Saturday afternoon, Peter Naylor was finishing work at Winnebago on ‘Old Bathurst Road’. He was the last to leave the site and his departure was delayed due to the quirky locking mechanism. The delay may have brought about the biggest sighting for many years to come and change the way we think about the Blue Mountains … and may answer a long-term debate as to whether there are koalas in this region.

It was November 2007 when Peter had this extraordinary experience, traveling home turning left off David Road towards the Mountains. Just about 100 metres up the road, Peter noticed something on the left-hand side, struggling to get under the fence of a manufacturing company. His first thoughts were that it was a large possum or possibly the infamous Black Panther. As Peter drove closer and pulled over to get a better look, to his surprise it was a KOALA! What the …..!!!!

The Koala was trying to look for a hole or a gap under the fence line and didn’t notice Peter. Peter took some towels that he keeps in the back of his car and placed the towels over and around the koala to pick the animal up. When koalas are nervous they pee all over the handler and the material that they are wrapped in. ‘It wasn’t easy, the koala was very feisty at first until he was wrapped up nice and secure’, said Peter.

Peter didn’t see if the koala was a male or a female. He was busy with all the excitement of relocating him/her up old Bathurst Road. He pulled over on the right side of the road at the first S bend in the road, removed the koala from his back seat and allowed it to go to the nearest tree. I wish I had been there to witness the event, to record the moment and see the size, gender, quality of the coat, the teeth and observe any injuries, especially around the ears, to see if it was a male. This would be a sign of fighting other males for territory.

Around Australia, koalas make different home ranges depending on their population, food source and habitat. The average home range for a male is around a couple of hectares, but this ranges right up to over 100 hectares in the semi-arid regions of central Queensland.

Vicki Lett, from National Parks in Richmond explained that two males Koalas, Clancy and Norman, were released at the foot of the mountains back in 1998 as part of research on the movement of these two male Koalas. Clancy was the younger of the two, coming from Webberburn National Park, and the other koala Norman was more aggressive by nature. Sighting of these two koalas have come from the general public, from Lapestone to Springwood, but there is a small koala population at Kurrajong so it is hard to distinguish whether it’s a koala from that population.

People are warned to stay clear of any koala as if cornered they will attack. The best thing to do is to take as many photos as possible and try to determine whether it’s a male or female. If the koala has a brown stain on the chest it is a male. This stain comes from a scent gland which they use to mark their territory. If possible collect their dropping because these can be analyzed to ascertain the type of vegetation they have been eating, There is a misconception that koalas eat only eucalyptus leaves. This is true for the majority of the time, but both wild and captive koalas are capable of eating alternative plant species. We’re not sure of the reasons., but speculate that it is due to health, accessibility of food, food shortage, lack of water in food sources and soil conditions.

There been regular reports of koalas sited sitting, sleeping and eating in non- eucalyptus trees. Working with koalas I witnessed some eating display trees and bark and it isn’t uncommon for some wildlife parks to give koalas in captivity the option to eat fresh soil in a bowl as well as water. This method helps keepers to observe certain behaviour, and asses their fitness and health patterns and whether there is a mineral deficiency or any internal problems, which may be hard to see when doing an external examination.

I have started three small tree planting projects using three different soil textures, to try to improve the health of koalas in captivity. The aim is to incorporate these captivity management techniques into koala conservation strategies to maintain the animals’ mental stimulation which in turn enhances physical activities.

I invite anyone who is interested in becoming involved with the koala tree-planting project to join us on: National Tree Day, Sunday 27 July 2008
At: Eastern Creek Dragway, Ferrers Road, Blacktown
Visit: www.koalaretreat.com
Alternatively ring Vicki in Richmond on: (02) 4588 5247.

Marcus The Koala Man
Koala Retreat