It is now almost eleven years since we first observed koalas
in one of the trees on our 1.6 ha block at Waterview Heights. When we first came to live out there in 1973
there were only three trees on the block.
Our extensive planting of native trees and shrubs over the years is now
being rewarded by a highly consistent presence of koalas.
The first thing that my wife Magda does every morning is to
do what she calls “my koala walk”. Round
the block she goes, observing, as best she can, the presence or otherwise of
what she calls “our little furry friend”.
Magda makes a record of her observations and gives a written
monthly report to the Environment Centre.
In June this year she observed the presence of a koala on 26 days out of
30.
There have been many highlights.
On one morning while we were having breakfast Magda took
some plates to the sink. She looked out
the adjacent window and there was a mother koala with her joey on her back
walking slowly past. The koalas
continued their journey to a nearby tree which was climbed and used as
home for the remaining daylight hours.
Sometimes Magda’s observations will be blessed by the
presence of two koalas in the one morning.
Usually there is quite a distance between them, but on one occasion
while photographing one, I was fortunate to observe a second in a distant
location but in a tree that formed a backdrop to the first. It has been the only occasion when I have
been able to capture two of the iconic creatures in the one picture.
And recently, early in the morning when the sun was still
low in the sky, we found a koala in such a position that when you observed
him/her from one particular position, a golden glow formed a beautiful edge
right round our sleepy furry friend.
One evening as the light was dimming, I decided to try a
flashlight. The resulting picture showed
the koala highlighted by two bright sparkling eyes. On this occasion the koala was certainly not
curled up deep in sleep.
And there have been a number of people who, never having
observed a koala in the wild, have visited our little forest and had their
lives enriched by these iconic creatures.
At night we have never observed the koala movement but their
daytime locations indicate how extensive these wanderings have been. Our hope is that these night time movements
will continue safely into the future bringing a blessing to the natural
environment.
- Stan Mussared
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| Photo: Stan Mussared |
