Tree Huggers
During a cloudy day in Melbourne, my boyfriend and I decided to head to Melbourne Zoo for the day. We headed straight for the ‘Australian Bush’ section first and immediately saw koalas! 2 females, popcorn and pretzel and 1 male, Adam. I prefer the names popcorn and pretzel… It was perfect timing because a talk about the koalas started as we arrived. We learnt a lot about koalas from this talk, as well as the impact that the 2019-2020 Australian Bushfires had on them. I’m excited to share what we learnt in today’s blog.
Koalas strictly eat eucalyptus leaves and only about 40 of the 700 species of eucalyptus. They are fussy! As well as this, it would be a very rare occurrence to see Koalas drink water as they get enough of it in the 500-800 grams of eucalyptus leaves they eat per day. This isn’t surprising as the word ‘koala’ is believed to have originated from the Australian Aboriginal word ‘Dharug’, which roughly translates to ‘no water’ or ‘no drink.’
Because of their restricted diet, the 2019-2020 Australian bushfires had a significant impact on koalas; part of the 3 billion animals perished or were lost during the fires. Godfree and others (2021) reported that the fires extensively burnt a broad range of vegetation communities, including 72-83% of rainforests, eucalypt forests and woodlands… which understandably caused problems for koalas regarding their source of food as well as their safety.
Something we learnt at Melbourne Zoo was that koalas have limited defence against other animals or predators. They can sleep for between 18-20 hours a day and therefore rely on their high placement in the eucalyptus trees for safety. Therefore, the bushfires destroying large numbers of trees also destroyed koalas' homes and, in turn, put them at significant risk. It is estimated that 80% of koalas were lost from some areas during the bushfires (Dunstan 2021). Popcorn, Pretzel and Adam were rescued from the bushfires and brought to the Melbourne Zoo, where the keepers could look after them, give them safety and nutrition. Koalas are categorised as Vulnerable in Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory primarily due to loss of habitat. Melbourne Zoo hopes that it can support the koalas, give them the right medication and access to food to make them strong and confident enough to go back into the wild.
Without a doubt, the bushfires had a significant impact on koalas. Their habitat is still threatened daily. We were keen to know if there was anything that we could do to help koalas in the wild, ensuring that they have safety and nutrition from the eucalyptus trees that they need for survival. Melbourne Zoo had lots of information to encourage the switch to recycled toilet paper. Here is a paragraph on their website explaining why this change is helpful:
‘Recycled toilet paper is much more sustainable as it is made from materials like used office paper. It also uses less energy and water to produce than non-recycled toilet paper. Choosing recycled toilet paper reduces our need for timber plantations and helps to keep trees in the ground to benefit wildlife, and us! Not only do trees provide habitat for wildlife; they also protect soil from erosion, clean our air and absorb carbon from the atmosphere.’
Something as simple as this can make a difference to wildlife in Australia and all over the world!
Meeting Popcorn, Pretzel, and Adam was such a highlight of our trip to Melbourne. We learnt so much and I hope to continue learning in the future. Thank you for reading!
