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Bullet – lived life his way at Koala Gardens

    Bullet is a major “character” in the recent history of the  Koala Gardens’ Colony.

    He had incredible acrobatic skills and a calm disposition. Bullet was first seen at Koala Gardens on 7th August 2017. His size, head shape, scent gland and behaviour suggested that he was between two and three  years old.

    As an obvious male and seemingly keen to ‘show his ammunition’, followers of Koala Gardens named him Bullet. His distinctive nose pattern made him easy to identify from the start. Later “tear” in his ear after he ripped out an ear tag made identification even easier.

    Bullet koala as a young male sitting in the fork of a large eucalyptus tree his right rear hind paw and claws are visible as he looks over his right arm showing his full face to camera. He looks alert and both ears are clearly undamaged and with out a tag.
    Male koala Bullet sits on a branch of a eucalyptus tree with the leaves of the tree surrounding him . He has his back to camera. his hind legs are dangling as he holds on to another branch at head height with his front paws. He is looking over his left shoulder and the red eat tag in his left ear is clearly visible.
    Facing right and against a background of leaves and sky, Bullet is partly curled up in a tree. He is looking over his right shoulder to camera. His eyes are open and he looks alert. His thick coat looks to be wet from rain.

    Bullet Arrives at Koala Gardens

    Bullet arrived at a time when the colony was going through a period of change. Zorro left the property in September  and young male Takeshi appeared around that time. There were some altercations between Takeshi and Bullet  for a place at Koala gardens. After some very loud fights (see below). Bullet often seemed to be the loser in these altercations, however, he stayed and mated Stevie whilst Takeshi moved on.

    Even with a lot of trees, males have to do fight as they mature. This is primarily to establish their place in the colony hierarchy.  Bullet had several altercations with Jordan, then the alpha male over around 65% of the property. Initially, he also fought with Zorro. then alpha over around 10%. In 2017Bullet spent 68 days at Koala Gardens during 2017. He was coming and going a lot, as he looked somewhere to settle in and call home.

    Settling into the Colony

    By 2018 Bullet was winning a place in the colony. Then he suffered a a misadventure . He encountered either another male koala or, most likely, with a dog on a neighbouring property. (there are no dogs at Koala Gardens).Initially the wound was just a tiny puncture, too small to be noticeable. Unfortunately the wound became an abscess that burst. Suddenly it was very obviously a serious health issue for Bullet.

    Bullet male koala high in a eucalyptus tree. He is facing right and reaching out from the tree he is in to grasp a thin branch of another tree with a view to jumping across. Against a background of leaves and the sky, his features are not visible. He appears completely focused on his next move.
    Bullet male climbing through a forest red gum tree. He is facing right as he climbs, the branches are highlighted against a clear blue sky. The are a few leaves in front of him. The position of bullet’s paws, three holding a branch and one rear paw caught in motion, indicates how an arboreal animal moves through trees.

    Seeing Bullet needed care, Katrina sprang into action. After 2 different attempts, she captured Bullet, using a trap and then whisked him off to hospital. He then spent a gruelling 2 months fighting for his life at Currumbin Wildlife Hospital on the Gold Coast.  It was touch and go. Wild koalas do not respond well to being in a captive environment, often becoming very stressed. Fortunately he recovered enough to go home to Koala Gardens. You can read about this incident as Nugget’s story in the fourth in the series of the Adventures of Mist Books published by Koala Gardens, “Nugget Comes Home”. Watch Katrina releasing Bullet back at Koala Gardens (below).

    When he returned to Koala Gardens Bullet quickly settled back. He was soon, back to doing the rounds of his own home range, eating really well and regaining good condition. When released he had a red ear tag in his left ear as shown in the centre photo above.  However some months after release, Bullet somehow ripped the tag out of his ear. His torn ear adding to his character. Despite his time away Bullet spent the most days on the property of all the colony koalas in 2018.

    Bullet koala shown in left profile, surrounded by leaves. The sharp claws on his left front paw are in view as he reaches for a leaf, his sharp claw . Only his left eye is in view and this is wide open as he concentrates on his task. He may be using his large noise to help him select his meal. His torn left ear is visible with the white fur of the inner ear contrasting with his brown-grey coat.
    Adult male Bullet is curled up asleep in a eucalyptus tree. Facing the camera Bullet is sitting on a horizontal branch with his back legs raised to rest on a higher horizontal branch, showing the lighter fur on his rump. His front right paw is also resting on this higher branch, which is also obscuring his mouth and chin. His eyes are closed. The tear in his left ear can be seen.

    In 2019 Bullet went from strength to strength, then, as he was reaching full maturity, he left the property. He was probably pushed out by alpha Jordan and needing  to find his own place.  He was, however seen at Koala Gardens on 185 days of that year, the second highest number of sightings for a colony member.

    Jordan was tragically lost to a blood parasite, in 2017. Bullet subsequently returned to his favourite areas on the property. As these included trees right beside the  house, Katrina got many video opportunities. She was able to look out of her kitchen window and see him. What a treat!

    Bullet male koala sitting on the branch of a red gum. Facing left, he is on a large branch with his feet resting on the same branch. He is holding on to a thinner, higher branch with his front paws. The sunlight casts a golden glow on the image, the background. leaves have a golden hue. Bullet's left profile is shown, his eyes are closed
    Does the golden hour suit me?
    Male koala Bullet is sleeping in a pink bloodwood tree. His right profile is shown as he rests on a branch with a background of leaves and the sky. The white mottled pattern on his pale grey fur towards his rump can be seen.
    Ah yes, a perfectly comfortable spot

    Bullet was the koala we saw on the property most in 2020 and had the second highest number of sightings in 2021. He continued to delight his many fans and was a joy to behold. By this time he was firmly established in the colony, as young males Rocket and Swaggie were to find out.

    His many fans do not believe it possible that a koala as fabulous as Bullet did not pass on his genes to another generation. He did not win Queen Matilda over, though. (below). He is, however, possibly the father of Grace the 2022 joey of Phoenix

    He was also the koala with most sightings in 2022, a total of 212, even though this was the year when, tragically, we lost him.

    When Hugo became unwell and went into care, Bullet took the opportunity of his absence to go off to explore Hugo’s territory. We can only guess at exactly what happened, but it seems that whilst he was off the property, he came across a large male and during a fierce fight, fell from the tree. He made it back to Koala Gardens and Katrina trapped him and took him to the hospital to receive care, We were all devastated that his injuries were too severe for him to survive .

    Bullet’s face is shown in close up. He is in a tree holding on to a narrow vertical branch in front of him to the left of the picture. His front right paw can be seen holding the branch surrounded by green leaves. His eyes are open and his mouth is partially open as he looks to camera. His white chin contrasts with his large dark nose and his grey fur. His torn left ear can also be seen.
    Shown in left profile, Bullet is asleep in a tree against a background of eucalyptus leaves. His left arm is stretched out in front of him, probably holding a vertical branch not shown in the photo. His head is slightly inclined towards the camera as he rests his chin on his arm. Part of his white chin can be seen contrasting with his dark nose and grey fur. His torn ear is also shown, but the damage is not clear in the photo.

    Bullet brought so much to people all the world around, just by doing his natural koala thing and  living a wild and free koala life. He is greatly missed.

    On the very day we lost Bullet lost, another koala, the beautiful Orion, appeared in one of his favourite trees. This reminded us of how Bullet himself appeared in that very tree after the loss of Jordan.

    Watch Bullet living his best koala life.

    Bullet has lots of videos on YouTube  where he already  has his own playlist. You can see some amazing video of Bullet’s life at Koala Gardens, including his incredible acrobatics. You can also spend quality “zen” time with him.

     Bullet appears in the Koala Gardens Happenings for 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.

    Long time Koala Gardens supporter Shawn has also produced a lovely drawing in tribute to Bullet’s amazing acrobatic ability, which you can see here

    Groove with Bullet

    Bullet sings, (well bellows to be strictly accurate!) his heart out on the amazing Koala Gardens Groove .This amazing soundtrack was created for Koala gardens by Peter Philippe Weiss and you can find out more about his work via linktree

    Join the Colony and get involved

    You can become part of the Koala Gardens Colony by adopting one of the resident wild koalas. You can also become a Patron,  and one level has an adoption option.

    Come and discuss Koala Gardens and all things koala on Discord where we hold lots of interesting and often in-depth discussions there. Lots of fun!

    You will become part of the family and help  provide much needed koala habitat.

    You can also follow Katrina and the Koalas on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

    Koala Gardens publishes a small number of delightful illustrated children’s books in the The Adventures of Mist series. Check out the beautifully engaging and educational design.  Our mission is to help children to “Fall in love with Nature”.

    You can even find some great Koala Gardens gifts over at Redbubble where there is huge range of designs on an even bigger range of items.

    Alternatively, you can find quick access links to everything Koala Gardens via Link Tree.

    Against a background of leaves and facing left with his back to camera, Bullet is in an Angophora tree, holding on to a thin branch in front of him. His face is seen in left profile, his eyes are closed.