Wouldn’t we all dream of having a Koala pay us a visit!
Obviously, if you live in an area where Koalas don’t exist – then no matter what Koala-friendly strategies you put in place… sorry, it ain’t gonna happen…
We used to have Koalas where we live. In fact, if you went for a walk down to the park and surrounding creek at the end of our street you were always sure to smell a Koala or see one having a mid-day siesta up a tree. I remember watching one meander through the grass, right past us one day as we sat in the park under a tree. We watched it climb another tree, settle in a fork and go back to sleep. But that was about five years ago, and since that time it’s only on the odd occasion that we smell one.
Development has gone wild in our little neck of the woods. Four hundred Bloodwood trees were cut down to make room for a supermarket, and the water board bought land at the back of a Koala Fodder Forest and cut down all of the trees. We also lost the ‘Koala corridors’: threads of trees that allowed the Koalas to move safely from one area to the next, due to council widening the roads.
As we’re discovering, development means money – something councils and governments favour over wildlife habitat, so our green, carbon reducing neighbours will continue to disappear. The next best thing is to create wildlife habitat in our own gardens.
If you’re in an area where Koalas have been seen, then why not create a Koala-friendly area?
You can choose to plant Eucalyptus (Gum Trees) and other Koala-munching trees in your garden (Koalas do actually eat the leaves of other trees as well – see below list). You can even plant these in a small suburban block. Simply prune the trees regularly – you’ll actually be doing the Koalas a favour, as pruned trees produce an abundance of the yummy succulent new leaf (known as tips) that Koalas relish.
The Koala menu includes the following trees:
- Baker’s Mallee (Eucalyptus ovata)
- Blackbutt (Eucalyptus pilularis)
- Blue Gum (Eucalyptus globulus)
- Broad-leaved Paperbark (Melaleuca quinquenervia)
- Brushbox (Lophostemon confertus)
- Candlebark (Eucalyptus rubida)
- Grey Box (Eucalyptus microcarpa)
- Grey Gum (Eucalyptus propinqua)
- Grey Ironbark (Eucalyptus paniculata)
- Grey Irongum (Eucalyptus punctata)
- Gum-topped Box (Eucalyptus moluccana)
- Long-leaved Box (Eucalyptus goniocalyx)
- Manna Gum (Eucalyptus viminalis)
- Messmate Stringybark (Eucalyptus obliqua)
- Mountain Ash (Eucalyptus regnans)
- Narrow-leaved Ironbark (Eucalyptus crebra)
- Narrow-leaf Peppermint (Eucalyptus radiata)
- Narrow-leaved Red Gum (Eucalyptus seeana)
- Northern Grey Ironbark (Eucalyptus siderophloia)
- Pink Bloodwood (Eucalyptus intermedia)
- Qld Blue Gum (Eucalyptus tereticornis)
- Qld Grey Ironbark (Eucalyptus drepanophylla)
- Qld White Stringybark (Eucalyptus nigra)
- Red Box (Eucalyptus polyanthemos)
- Red Stringybark (Eucalyptus resinifera)
- River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis)
- Rose Gum (Eucalyptus grandis)
- Scribbly Gum (Eucalyptus racemosa) and (Eucalyptus haemastoma)
- Spotted Gum (Eucalyptus maculata)
- Swamp Box (Lophostemon suaveolens)
- Swamp Mahogany (Eucalyptus robusta)
- Tallowwood (Eucalyptus microcorys)
- White Mahogany (Eucalyptus carnea)
- White Stringybark (Eucalyptus tindaleae)
- Willow-Leafed Peppermint (Eucalyptus nicholii)
- Yellow Box (Eucalyptus melliodra)
Choose plants that are native to your area as they will do best in your soil and climate.
Other things you must consider if you wish to attract Koalas to your garden include:
- Keeping your dog in at night.
Dog attacks are a major contributor to the death of Koalas. - Koala proofing your pool.
Many Koalas climb or fall into pools and can’t get out, and therefore drown. Put something in your pool that a Koala can use to climb out. It could be a wooden pole or a thick rope. Don’t choose something that becomes slippery when it’s wet, that will only defeat the purpose. - Providing a small drink station.
You may have heard that Koalas don’t drink. In actual fact they do. Put a shallow dish of water under the trees you believe a Koala may inhabit. And remember to change it daily – you don’t want to create a place for mozzies to breed. The Koala will thank you for your effort – in particular during very hot weather (as will other wildlife such as Possums, Birds and Lizards). - Planting Protection Trees.
You can plant dense foliage trees which Koalas use for protection – either from the sun during the hot summer days, from intense stormy weather, or from predators. These include Mango Trees and Fig Trees. We have a gorgeous Fig Tree in the back of our small garden, and it not only keeps the area cooler during summer, it’s home to a variety of wildlife. - Creating a Koala Corridor.
Plant a row of trees throughout your garden that Koalas can use as a ‘highway’ to get from one side of your property to the other. Planting these trees will keep the Koalas up off the ground – away from Predators, and where they feel most comfortable.
Just one other note – Koalas are a noisy bunch of Aussies!
At our previous house, a particular large male Koala used to pass through our property and spend a fair amount of time in the garden of a house at the end of our street. One morning I met the husband and wife, who lived in that particular home, at the bus stop one morning and asked if they’d heard the Koala come through during the night.
The husband grumbled, “Did we ever! He’s set himself up in the tree beside our bedroom, farting and grunting all night. She,” he pointed accusingly at his wife, “thinks he’s cute.”
Without a blink of the eye, the wife responded with, “Only because he reminds me of you.”
Oh, well…