No one logged in. Log in
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • NEWS
  • RESOURCES
  • CONTACT
  • JOIN
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • NEWS
  • RESOURCES
  • CONTACT
  • JOIN
KOALATRACKER BLOG 

Subscribe by RSS RSS

KoalaTracker is Australia's national koala map and database, mapping the location of koala populations, points of impact and causes of death and injury for the public record. KoalaTracker empowers localised advocacy, enables more effective risk mitigation, adds to research and engages the community to save the koala. This blog discusses the knowledge gained through member submissions, koala mapping and location intelligence, scientific research and government action. Please join the conversation.

We don't know what we don't know KoalaTracker Blog
Alex Harris - Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Everything you can read on koalas will tell you they only eat eucalyptus leaves.  It’s what we know.

“Koalas are strictly leaf eaters.  Koalas have strong regional preferences for certain eucalypt species.   In a particular district, koalas may feed almost entirely on one or two species.” - Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (Qld)

Increasingly, KoalaTracker is proving we don’t know what we don’t know.

Yes, koalas eat eucalyptus leaves (see the Resources Page for lists), but KoalaTracker members are observing koalas eating a far broader diet, including the leaves of camphor laurel, macadamia and olive trees, bark, flowers, termites and apples. 

On several occasions, different koala carers have told me how a juvenile koala in care has raided the fruit bowl and run off with an apple, and they have had to catch them and retrieve the apple from them.  Because, well, koalas don’t eat apples, do they.  Or do they? 

The video and (apple) photos below are from the Cohuna Wildlife Park in Perth, where five of the 13 resident koalas regularly enjoy fresh crisp apples as a treat about twice a week.  Eddie, an eight-year-old male is featured in the video.

Owner, Lucille, tells me she saw a documentary on koalas some 40 years ago, that reported koalas eating native crab apples (Pouteria eerwah - wild apple or black plum).  They certainly appear to enjoy their apples! 



As I watch this video, I am reminded of my visits to wildlife parks where kangaroos are fed a diet that includes raw sweet corn and sweet potato, neither of which exists in their natural diet.  But they love them.  As it is with koalas and apples it seems.  Not every koala, maybe not every type of apple, but there is an unquestionable liking among some koalas for apples.  And here's the proof...



Also observed in the Somerset region, with potential evidence of it in other parts, are female koalas teaching their joeys to eat termites.  (Click an image to open the gallery.)

What else have you seen?  Map your koala sightings and record their behaviour here, for the public record.

Please support KoalaTracker, your free community crowdsourced koala map.  Tell your friends.



Comments

You need to be logged in before you can comment (see login at top of screen). If not a member REGISTER HERE. Membership access is immediate. Please maintain respect for each other's views. The editor reserves the right to edit (for any reason) or block an inappropriate comment. Thank you.


Post a Comment




Captcha Image


Previous Next





CONNECT ON TWITTER
Tweets by @koalatracker
Recent Posts

  • We're talking; they're dying
  • Queensland rolling back environmental protection
  • Wild koalas: slow life in the fast lane
  • We don't know what we don't know
  • Killer cows
  • The rise of ecotourism
  • Koalas are water guzzlers!
  • Nobody should be allowed to hunt endangered wildlife
  • Support
  • Citizen Science
  • How to find koalas in the wild
  • Going, going, gone...
  • A big day for koalas
  • An extraordinary situation
  • Koala orphans - Guest Post by Anika Lehmann, Moreton Bay Koala Rescue
  • The Problem with Disease is that it Spreads
  • People v Powerlink
  • Why Bother? Australian wildlife are simply pests


TAGS

koala disease find koalas in the wild intellectual property koala tourism sick koalas violence koala conservation koala research koalas koaladiaries koalas drinking water kangaroos kyogle what do koalas eat? koalas eating apples ecotourism killer cows Koala map wildlife animal cruelty koala's economic contribution koala mapping australian sustainability queensland koalas cows kill koalas koalas eating termites

Copyright Alex Harris © 2009-2016. All rights reserved. Designed by KoalaTracker Creator Alex Harris | Disclaimer 
Photos available under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 2.5 Australia License. Attribution: www.koalatracker.com.au member photo.


koalatracker koala tracker k-tracker koalatracker koala tracker koala tracker koala tracking koala tracking koala mapping mapping koalas koala map national koala tracker national koala mapping national koala database national koalatrakcer koala tracker k-tracker koalatracker koala tracker koala tracking koala tracking koala tracker tracking koalas mapping koalas scientific research tracking koalas mapping koalas ktracker ktracker koala tracker koala tracker
koalatracker koala tracker k-tracker koalatracker koala tracker koala tracker koala tracking koala tracking koala mapping mapping koalas koala map national koala tracker national koala mapping national koala database national koalatrakcer koala tracker k-tracker koalatracker koala tracker koala tracking koala tracking koala tracker tracking koalas mapping koalas scientific research tracking koalas mapping koalas ktracker ktracker koala tracker koala tracker