Koala Passing Through
Imagine our excitement to see this little fella outside our window, hopping across the paddock heading for a gum tree. We believed he was only passing through and didn’t expect to see him the following morning. We were excited when he was still there the next day, staying a couple of nights before moving on.
Koala’s will only eat leaves from 40-50 species of gum trees, avoiding the leaves from other gums of which there are more than 900 species. They also prefer gum leaves of a particular age, ‘not too old, not too young, but just right.’
We suspect this rare sight was due to the recent rains, as new shoots are bursting on all the gum trees.
Koalas in Australia are vulnerable and this is only my second sighting since childhood, when over thirty years ago the koala population was decimated by the disease ‘wet bottom.’
I’m certain this is a sight our children will long remember. Few Australians are privileged to see koalas outside of the zoo.
Exciting couple of days indeed.
9 Comments
Sherelle
What gorgeous photos!
Erin
Sherelle
thanks:)
Karen @ Pieces of Contentment
It is wonderful to see them in the wild – and even better to capture the event in photos too!
Erin
Karen
The camera lens allowed me to zoom in and see even closer, was wonderful:)
Christine @ Adventure, Baby!
Beautiful!! How lucky to see them in the wild.
Erin
Christine,
It truly was a privilege. And welcome over here:)
Sarah
What fun to see one on your own land. I had no idea they were so rare (or such picky eaters!).
Erin
Sarah,
We’ve been so blessed since we moved here. Yes they are rare, always learning new facts about them. Observation (and cameras) have recently revealed that they also eat bark, only of two particular trees in the Alpine region!
Ami
How cool! An amazing sight.