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Greta

    Greta was probably the very oldest recorded colony member. We think that she may be the mother of Jordan.

    When Greta arrived on the property in May 2016, Katrina noticed that her right eye as it was ‘wet’. She spent 5 weeks in care, when a vet treating her established that she was 10-11 tears old. Her problem was a mechanical issue with her tear duct and it became obvious that she would have a ‘wet’ eye for the rest of her life. She was released at Koala Gardens in September.

    Greta is holding on tightly with all four paws, to the narrow trunk of a young redwood tree. She is sitting on a slim horizontal branch and is peering round the left hand side of the tree trunk. Her dark fur makes her features difficult to see against the background of leaves and pale sky. Her eyes appear to be open as she looks slightly downwards.
    Greta
    Against a background of leaves, which contrasts with her dark fur, Gretta is climbing a young tree. Facing left she is holding onto the narrow trunk in front of her with all four paws. Her face is partially obscured by leaves, but her eyes are open and she looks focused on the leaves surrounding her.

    By 2017 Greta seemed to have moved her home range a little and was only seen on 7 days in the whole year. Fortunately she had a big healthy joey with her on several of those days, so was clearly thriving. Her eye was still weeping, but she was big, strong and breeding.. At this point she was around 12 years old.

    She was subsequently, then on 7th July 2018 she came back, just for one day with another joey.

    Against a background of leaves and facing right, Greta is sitting on a narrow branch in a young tree, holding onto the trunk in front of her . Her joey is in her lap, sitting partly on Greta’s right hind leg. Greta has her right arm around her joey. Greta is looking round over her right shoulder, she is looking down, her weepy right eye is shown Her eyes look slightly open as she rests. The fur on her back is quite brown, fading to grey on her arms and legs. The joeys face is obscured as Greta rests her own head against it. Greta is clearly an older koala.
    Greta and her 2017joey
    Greta is in a tree holding her 2018 joey. Her joey is obscured by foliage and by Greta’s arm as she reaches up to hold a branch in front of her. Greta is facing left and looking to camera over her left shoulder. Her eyes are open and her dark nose can be seen, but she cannot be seen clearly through the leaves.
    Greta and her 2018 joey

    She then returned on February, 2019  at 14 years old, again with another joey, and was seen on the property 5 times. It is an amazing achievement for a wild koala of this age to still be breeding and successfully raising young.

    What an incredible koala!

    Greta has lots of video on YouTube (with and without her joeys) and even has her very own playlist (below). She appears in the Koala Gardens Happenings for 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.

    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.

    Facing right, Greta is sitting on a smooth horizontal branch, holding onto a branch in front of her with her front left paw. Her dark fur contrasting against a pale sky, she is looking over right shoulder her eyes are open and she appears to be focused as she looks down.