Koala Cuddles

You need a hug….you’re far from home, friends and family…what do you do? You visit the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary of course and cuddle a koala! You can find controversy about the merits of this type of activity re: tourist dollars for valuable research/conservation vs. exploitation. There are well over one hundred koalas here and I was told that none of them are permitted to be held more than a half hour a day. 

Lone Pine, dating back to 1927 is the world’s oldest koala sanctuary. There are over 100 species of  Australian wildlife there in a beautiful park like setting.

The animals were doing what many animals do on hot days…they were just lying about, especially the koalas who sleep between 18 and 20 hours the day. Their main diet of eucalyptus leaves (referred to as "gums" by the local people),   is difficult to digest so the koalas have little energy for much else other than sleeping. A koala will eat about two pounds of leaves a day. Asleep of not, I couldn’t help but smile as I photographed and observed these cute, teddy bear like animals;-) We all know of course, koalas are marsupials and not bears;-) 

The koala's natural habitat continues to diminish with urbanization and creation of farmland. It can be as common to hear of koalas killed by dogs or run over by a car as it is to hear of death by natural causes. The disease of chlamydia is also a major threat facing koalas throughout Queensland and New South Wales.  Research to control it is presently underway at Queensland University of Technology with promising results.

There were huge open areas where the kangaroos/wallabies were either sleeping, scratching, foraging or feeding their young. The kangaroos could mingle with the humans, which they chose to do when people hand fed them “roo food” or they could access rest areas, which were off limits to the public. They are odd creatures to see them up close with their tiny front legs, long, powerful back legs and strong tail. There wasn’t too much hopping around going on but the times when one or two gave it a go, it was amazing to see the height and distance they could cover so effortlessly.

I did see one joey’s feet and tail hanging out of a mother’s pouch. I don’t know how old it was but when it plopped out onto the ground at one point, I could see it was probably a few months old. I’m very spoiled when it comes to animal photography as I’ve had such wonderful opportunities to shoot animals in their natural habitat always looking for the best lighting conditions. Shooting in the middle of the day with tin roofs over the koalas and fenced enclosures around the animals can be less inspiring from a photography perspective.  Nonetheless, it was a rare opportunity to see these animals, as other than zoos, Australia is the only place in the world where these animals can be found.

An example of the laid back attitude here in Queensland?;-)