Conserving Koala Country

Conserving Koala Country

Saturday 9 June 2012

Soggy koalas

I'm often asked why I don't run a fieldtrip to Cape Otway in June or July.  The answer of course is.... 'THE WEATHER'.

I spent the day yesterday looking for soggy koalas, writing on soggy data sheets, while trying very hard not to let any of the tracking gear or my camera get equally soggy.  I managed to keep myself fairly dry although am wondering what 'weather-proof' means when applied to field pants? Proven to get you wet when it rains perhaps? 


Bruce

All of our collared koalas had survived the record rains of the past week and generally didn't look too wet. 

I managed to snap some photos of Bruce and Willy (not collared but tagged Gr111 in a previous study).  Willy was in the same tree we caught him in at the beginning of last year.



   

I also got the chance to have a closer look at 'Scar'.  I'm still amazed at how a koala could have survived an injury like his.  I also wonder how he came by it....


Scar



Scar



But back to the weather..... the graph below shows how 2012 is stacking up against long-term averages for Cape Otway.  March was certainly wetter than average and June is shaping up to be the same.  After only 9 days we're at 85% of the rainfall you would expect for the whole month. Great news if you're a Manna Gum!


My baby manna gum are slowly but surely growing although it will be a while before they can be planted out.  Bimbi Park will be doing some planting of there own in the next month or so.  They committed to planting one Manna Gum per 5 'Likes' on their Facebook page.  If you haven't already visited their page, make sure you do and 'Like' this idea: http://www.facebook.com/Bimbipark