I thought it might help to see that really distinctive nose of Ryder again in a different tree from a different angle so you can see how if you get a good shot of the nose you can compare and identify. His other photo is 2 days ago or click the ryder tag to compare :)
@gardencat that's a great question. The only way to accurately figure the age of a koala (unless you see it as back young and can track the age of course) is to examine the amount of wear on their molar teeth. This means an anaesthetic, so is rather difficult.
However, I know Jordan is at least 7-8 years old because I have been watching him for 5 years and he was around 7kg at the start (he was 8.5kg when we caught and weighed him last week), and had a good scent gland developing. This means he was at least 2-3 years old then.
Newman and Ryder, I suspect, but only suspect without seeing their teeth, are young fellas around 3 years old looking for a place in the world. They are both full sized, but maybe not full matured (males take 4 years to reach full maturity), but not far off maturing.
So lots of bits of observation to make guesswork.
Bullet I know the age of because I had to catch him in 2017 when he was bitten by a dog, so we got to check his teeth and age him. He is around 4 years old now.
Ian
However, I know Jordan is at least 7-8 years old because I have been watching him for 5 years and he was around 7kg at the start (he was 8.5kg when we caught and weighed him last week), and had a good scent gland developing. This means he was at least 2-3 years old then.
Newman and Ryder, I suspect, but only suspect without seeing their teeth, are young fellas around 3 years old looking for a place in the world. They are both full sized, but maybe not full matured (males take 4 years to reach full maturity), but not far off maturing.
So lots of bits of observation to make guesswork.
Bullet I know the age of because I had to catch him in 2017 when he was bitten by a dog, so we got to check his teeth and age him. He is around 4 years old now.