2022 - year EIGHT of daily sighting, observation and photography
2022 has been a record year for the number of joeys born on, or raised at Koala Gardens.
It has been amazing after the past years of low numbers to see 6 different breeding females in on the property. With the impact of climate change and continued destruction of habitat, it has been incredibly energising to see this positive sign. It reminds me just how much work is needed to save koalas as a species. But it also reminds me that it can be done.
There were 2 catastrophic floods during February and March in the region. Koala Gardens is situated high on a ridgeline. This means that flood waters cannot inundate the actual property. There were still impacts from the floods, including being cut off for an extended period of time. Due a health issue as a result of flood impacts, I was not able to fully check the property every day for around 4 weeks. This means the total sightings are lower than the actual of number of koalas that will have been here.
There were a total of 994 adult sightings. This is about the same daily average from of 2.7 koalas per day as we saw last year. However, last year there was only one single joey born. The increase in breeding females is significant indeed.
These days of sightings were the result of activity on the property by 22 individual adult/independent koalas.
9 of these 22 koalas were females and 13 females.
Last year there were no diseased koalas seen, but this year we had chlamydial conjunctivitis in 2 of the males towards the end of the year. Hugo and Valentine were both caught and taken to hospital at Friends of the Koala for successful treatment. Chlamydia is endemic in this region. Roughly 50% of all koalas that are captured and brought in to hospital in the Northern Rivers are impacted by Chlamydia.
We were devastated to lose Bullet during the year to a trauma. Read more of his story below.
The kindy has been host to 4 koalas for different reasons during this year. This is another way Koala Gardens assists saving koalas. The kindy was kindly funded by ifaw and FOK and koalas are in the kindy under the rescue and rehabilitation licence of FOK.
So now get settled and enjoy looking back over the 22 koalas that lived on, or came through Koala Gardens during 2022.
You can watch them all on YouTube with the link below giving you all the video released in 2022.
BULLET
was seen here the most of all koalas, even though we tragically lost him.
He had really settled into a small area of his own, often just outside my kitchen window. I saw him here 212 days, and we lost him at the end of August.
When Hugo became unwell and went into care, Bullet went off exploring his territory. We can only guess at exactly what happened, but it seems that he came across a large male and during a fierce fight, fell from the tree. I was able to get him into the hospital. We were devastated at being unable to save him.
He has lots of video at YouTube and even has his very own playlist below.
MATILDA
was here 140 days which is only 6 days less than last year.
She is well settled in here and we love her as the most beautifully groomed Queen of the koalas.
She did not have a joey this year. We hope she will be ready to reproduce next year for sure.
Se has lots of video at YouTube and even has her very own playlist below.
ELLIE
was seen here 92 times. That means on average I saw her once every 3-4 days.
However, she is often here for a few days in a row, and then gone again for some days. You can ADOPT ELLIE too!
The exciting thing is in the photo here. Ellie came here as a young koala, recently separated from her own mum. Now she has had her own first joey. Look at how healthy the both look as she carries Eddie on her back.
She has lots of video at YouTube and even has her very own playlist below.
HUGO
was seen 89 times.
He also spent 5 weeks in hospital with chlamydial conjunctivitis. In this photo you can see how clean and bright his eyes were on his return home.
Unfortunately, this disease can be insidious. He appeared to be doing well, but he slowly began to lose condition again. I was able to get him to the hospital but sadly he has been lost.
He has his own YouTube playlist below.
PEARL
was seen 82 times. You can ADOPT PEARL too!
She arrived here not long before her gorgeous joey Hope emerged from her pouch for the first time. They have been a total joy to watch together.
How amazing is she? That round face and dark fur just makes my heart smile.
Se has her own YouTube playlist below, see her in all her glory. Live well, Wild and Free beautiful girl.
GRACE
was here after separating from her mum 59 times. You can ADOPT GRACE too!
Third generation born at Koala Gardens. Grace is a true joy because she gives us so much hope for the future of the koala. Just look at her nose pattern. She already shows signs of growing to be a big strong girl like her mum, Phoenix.
Se has his own YouTube playlist below so you can enjoy all her antics.
ORION
was only seen 36 times all year.
But when you consider that he only arrived at the end of August, he has been here quite a lot.
He has a lovely round head and big ears. There is not much scent gland yet, so I would estimate he is around 3 years old on arrival. It will be great watching him mature fully.
He has her own YouTube playlist below, check him out.
WATTLE
Our very newest young one to the property. Wattle was here 33 times in 2022. You can ADOPT WATTLE too!
Yet he didn’t arrive until mid November, so he was here pretty much one day in every two. And look at that face!
He is around the same age as Grace, a little older than Hope.
He has his own playlist started and I’m hoping there is going to be a feast of video of him as he grows up.
EMMA
was here 29 times. It really felt like I saw her a lot more than this.
She came back just after her joey, Shine, emerged from her pouch. Such a joy as if you watch through her video, she was here late 2021 and I think that is when Shine was conceived.
She left again to take Shine somewhere else to separate from him. It was great to see her back towards to the end of the year – maybe she was looking to see who would father the next joey? You can ADOPT EMMA too!
She has her own YouTube playlist below, check her out.
SHINE
was here 29 times with his mum Emma.
Just look at those melting eyes in that tiny face.
This is truly why we do what we do. Once a koala looks at you with eyes like that, you are hooked for life.
Trying to save koalas is hard work, as they face so many issues with dwindling habitat. But Koala Gardens is committed to doing all we can to provide safe habitat for koalas and the other important wildlife that are part of the same ecosystem.
PHOENIX
was here 29 times and I can hardly believe it. You can ADOPT SUPER MUM PHOENIX!
She was born here and has brought both her joeys back here during their time as back young. She has also separated from both her joeys, leaving them to enter their ‘teenager’ time in a safe place.
You can see what a big strong girl she is.
She has her own YouTube playlist with some amazing video to see.
HUDSON
was here 27 times.
He is a real Hugo lookalike. The funny thing is that he first appeared here during the time that Hugo was in hospital for Chlamydia. I couldn’t believe my eyes at first.
He has a very different nose pattern to Hugo of course, so I can tell them apart this way. I wonder if he is related to Hugo?
Some people think all koalas look alike. I think most of them look quite different to each other.
HOPE
was here, independent of his mum, Pearl, 24 times. You can ADOPT HOPE too!
He was seen with Pearl, on her back or very close to her nearly 80 times before he was big enough to be on his own.
He has a delightful face and personality. He has a very calm disposition like his mum, so I am often able to film him clearly.
He has his own YouTube playlist if you want to see extreme cuteness.
ARTHUR
was here 23 times.
He is the roundest juvenile I’ve seen yet. He would have been around 2 years old when he arrived.
Just when I was beginning to think he might just stay around for good, he left again. Young juveniles move through the property every year looking for a place to make their own home. It can be hard for the young males as the older males don’t want to share with them.
I hope he found a great patch to make his forever home. Live long and well Arthur!
VALENTINE
arrived here in late September. He looked pretty good when he arrived. I only saw him 11 times in the first month. You can ADOPT VALENTINE now!
Quite suddenly, his left eye became infected. I recognised this as Clamydial conjunctivitis. I caught him and he went to hospital and was successfully treated.
You can see his story in his YouTube playlist.
OLIVIA
was here 19 times.
She is a gorgeous young girl and I soon noticed that she had a joey in pouch.
She left the property again just when joey was ready to emerge – not fair!
We hope you and your joey are well and live a long healthy life.
The Kindy enclosure at Koala Gardens is used for 2 main reasons.
Firstly to help with the final rehabilitation stages of koalas that have had serious head or limb injuries. They are able to completed physiotherapy and observations here.
Secondly, orphaned koalas that are ready to test out their readiness for the wild come here and spend a few weeks learning some vitals skills. After a successful stay here, they go on to release.
Enjoy some time watching various videos of visitors to the kindy through this playlist.
KEOGH
was here for 18 days, and always in the Kindy enclosure.
He came into care with his mum who had an infection.
He has been hand raised and is growing into a beautifully healthy koala.
He spent a year in care, and was released back to the place he was picked up from.
Live long mate and father some joeys to save koalas!
SCAMPI
was here for 18 days, and always in the Kindy enclosure.
He was found in a tree near a house calling for mum.
But mum could not be found anywhere in the area.
He was 8 months old and a good size.
He spent 6 months in care and grew well and fast. He was released and we hope he lives a long life of health.
BANJO
was here for 12 days, and always in the Kindy enclosure.
He was found dehydrated and underweight at the base of a tree. He was around a year old when found.
He also had a lot of ticks on him and flys were bothering him a lot.
He was in very poor condition and needed a lot of careful care to bring him back to full health.
What a little trooper he is.
SUMMER
was here for 12 days, and always in the Kindy enclosure.
What a beauty she is, don’t you think?
She was only 6 months old when she came into care. She was in very poor condition and had been without her mum for a few days.
She needed a lot of care over a 2 year period to get her to a stage where she could manage on her own in the wild.
We hope that she is living well out there now, the way a koala should be.
Long life beautiful girl.
EDDIE
was only seen 9 times quite independently from his mum Ellie.
Before he started really doing things on his own he was seen out of the pouch and with her 50 times. We watched him for months before that as a bulge in her pouch.
He looks so much like his mum I couldn’t believe he was a boy. Such a mini-me Ellie.
Eddie is the perfect name for him as he is so much like his mum.
He doesn’t have his own playlist yet, but he is in the joey YouTube playlist.
MIKKEL
was only seen 7 times and I wish she had stayed around more.
Look at that beautifully striking nose pattern!
She already had a joey in pouch, and so she made it clear to Orion that his attentions would not be welcome.
You can see the video of that fun here.
HUBERT
was only see twice.
Talk about just passing through!
He is another Hugo lookalike. I’m a little amazed. I’m guessing there are some good genes out there in Tuckurimba!
He is a big fella and I hope that he has found a good safe place to live with lots of food. Live well big boy!
