I've only seen this stunning big fella 8 times this year. I suspect the top south-western edge of the property is just at the edge of his range and this may be why he isn't often here. He was here a lot late last year, in fact it's exactly a year since the very first time he appeared here :)
I suspect he is the father of the joey Stevie is carrying as he shadowed her for several months. I think he will give some great bloodlines to the colony if that's the case!
Thank you for the awesome comments on my photos.
@haskar good question :) the male koalas do engage in a lot of territorial behaviours, and they can certainly end in fighting which is very risky as it mostly happens very high up in the treetops.
However, not only do they need to assert rank in the colony between their peers, but they need to assert that with the female. She will fight the male to ensure that only the very strongest males are able to mate with her.
Having said that, some of the males just take a lower rank in the colony and kind of cruise along 'under the radar' as much as possible. They get few breeding opportunities and are probably less successful at breeding, but I suspect these fellas often manage to mate the youngest girls in the first year of being mature. I need another 5 years or so observing to feel more confident stating this. If so, it's an interesting way for them to still pass their genetics along.
@pyrrhula oh great :) I do volunteer with a rescue organisation, but mostly I'm just regenerating habitat so they can live wild and free the way they should. we are so lucky to live with them!
How can you tell them all apart? Although, if I loved there and saw them regularly, I guess I would be familiar with them, too. I love seeing them and hearing your stories and descriptions of them!
I wish you had the ability to track your colony genetically; I bet that would be very informative as you monitor the parents and children. (is “monitor” the right word? As you continuously watch and keep track of your colony.) I like how Beau seems to have his left foot sort of crossed over his right leg, too!
@shutterbug49@kchuk I wish!!! I would be thrilled to find funding to do DNA mapping! genetic diversity isn't really an issue here, it's pure destruction of habitat. in some areas however the habitat loss becomes so severe that colonies are isolated and genetic diversity does become a real issue.
this property is in a natural koala corridor - so this land has been traditionally, for millions of years, where koalas have travelled over a large area to disperse and keep up the diversity by bringing young koalas to other colonies to settle. If the destruction of habitat continues, we will reach a point where fragmentation along the corridor could become so bad that the corridor disappears. we try to encourage landowners everywhere to plant tree corridors to try and keep the linkage up and prevent severe fragmentation.
However, not only do they need to assert rank in the colony between their peers, but they need to assert that with the female. She will fight the male to ensure that only the very strongest males are able to mate with her.
Having said that, some of the males just take a lower rank in the colony and kind of cruise along 'under the radar' as much as possible. They get few breeding opportunities and are probably less successful at breeding, but I suspect these fellas often manage to mate the youngest girls in the first year of being mature. I need another 5 years or so observing to feel more confident stating this. If so, it's an interesting way for them to still pass their genetics along.
See these couple of recent images for some good examples :) https://365project.org/koalagardens/365/2019-05-20 https://365project.org/koalagardens/365/2019-05-21
this property is in a natural koala corridor - so this land has been traditionally, for millions of years, where koalas have travelled over a large area to disperse and keep up the diversity by bringing young koalas to other colonies to settle. If the destruction of habitat continues, we will reach a point where fragmentation along the corridor could become so bad that the corridor disappears. we try to encourage landowners everywhere to plant tree corridors to try and keep the linkage up and prevent severe fragmentation.