INFORMATION ABOUT KOALAS

About Koalas

The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the wombats, which comprise the family Vombatidae. The koala is found in coastal areas of the mainland’s eastern and southern regions, inhabiting Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. It is easily recognisable by its stout, tailless body and large head with round, fluffy ears and large, spoon-shaped nose.

The koala has a body length of 60–85 cm and weighs 4–15 kg. Fur colour ranges from silver grey to chocolate brown. Koalas from the northern populations are typically smaller and lighter in colour than their counterparts further south. These populations possibly are separate subspecies, but this is disputed.

A koala in the wild will live for approximately 8 -10 years; however the average life span is often significantly reduced in suburban areas due to increased threats such as disease, loss of habitat, dogs, traffic and swimming pools.

Koalas typically inhabit open eucalypt woodlands, and the leaves of these trees make up most of their diet. Because this eucalypt diet has limited nutritional and caloric content, koalas are largely sedentary and sleep up to 20 hours a day.

Breeding

The breeding season is generally from August to December. Females are sexually mature at approximately two years of age and males from three years. Females can produce one young per year, and although rare, they have been known to give birth to twins.

Gestation lasts 35 days before the joey is born which is only 2cm in length and are totally hairless, without ears and are blind. After birth, the joey makes its way to the mother’s pouch where it attaches itself to one of her two teats.

The joey first emerges from the pouch after five to six months. Before the joey can eat gum leaves, the mother produces a special form of faeces, called pap. The joey must eat the pap because it provides the important gut bacteria necessary to digest eucalypt leaves.

They are asocial animals, and bonding exists only between mothers and dependent offspring.  Adult males communicate with loud bellows that intimidate rivals and attract mates. Males mark their presence with secretions from scent glands located on their chests. Being marsupials, koalas give birth to underdeveloped young that crawl into their mothers’ pouches, where they stay for the first six to seven months of their lives. These young koalas, known as joeys, are fully weaned around a year old. Koalas have few natural predators and parasites, but are threatened by various pathogens, such as Chlamydiaceae bacteria and the koala retrovirus.

Fencing

Is your fencing in a koala habitat area suitable for koalas to move safely and freely in their home range, to disperse and to breed.

Koalas need:

• A 30cm gap between ground level and the first rail or strand (which most of our local 3 strand fencing is) *
• If mesh fencing is used (and there is no 30cm gap at the bottom the koala can go under) place a pole/plank against fence at a 45 degree angle between two supporting upright poles  (this also allows escape for koalas cornered by livestock in paddocks).
• We need local knowledge and feedback re fencing impacts, and inventive ways to ensure koala safe movement where mesh fencing is used.
• House yard fencing needs to keep dogs inside ensuring their safety and that of wildlife on the property. Fencing that keeps dogs and a koala apart is critical in koala habitat areas.

Please remember barbed wire is a problem for many species that get entangled especially in the top rung.