A Koala Story

This wonderful story was passed along to us from
Down Under Answers and Janine Duffy, at Echidna Walkabout in Melbourne.

“After 13 years of crippling drought in south-eastern
Australia, last year we had rain - buckets of it. So
much so, that all the roads in the You Yangs washed
away. It took 6 months for the National Parks Service
to fix it all, and for all that time everyone was locked
out and we couldn’t see our precious fluffy darlings!
Just prior to the floods, we discovered that Koala Pat
had produced a baby out of season!! Koala breeding
season down here is October to March, and gestation
is only 35 days, so April should be the latest births.
But Clancy would have been born in May! What a
cheeky thing! Of course, we were thrilled. One of
the most difficult things about being unable to go
into the You Yangs, was knowing that baby Clancy was
growing up without us.
So the minute we were allowed back in we rushed
to the You Yangs to

find Pat. We found
her, but without
Clancy. We were
not surprised -
koala babies often
leave their mothers
at 12 months of
age. And by this
time Clancy was
already 15 months
old. He/she could
have been anywhere! For a month we searched with
no luck and we were losing hope.
Then one day I stopped for lunch in the You Yangs.
My guests were tired, so after lunch I left them to
have a bit of time together, and I went for a short
walk. I found a beautiful big, fluffy koala who looked
back at me calmly. It’s Pat, of course. Obviously this
koala knew me well, and wasn’t disturbed by my
presence. Then I looked closely. It wasn’t Pat - her
nose pattern was all wrong. But she was the spitting
image of Pat! Suddenly it occurred to me - she was
Clancy all grown up!!!! Like mother, like daughter....
I don’t need to tell you that there was a bit of
blubbering, lots of phone calls & text messages
around the Echidna Team. Koala Researchers Mary
& Donna were so excited they re-arranged their day
and were in the Park within two hours.
Since then we’ve seen Clancy again, her mum Pat,
and her grandma Smoky, all near each other. Three
generations of Koala Ladies. We hope Clancy sticks
around!”

About Echidna Walkabout: Echidna Walkabout offers
unique small group experiences in to the bush to see
kangaroos, koalas, emus wallabies, etc., in their natural
environment out of Melbourne. Echidna Walkabout has
been involved with Koala Research in the You Yangs and
Brisbane Ranges since 1998. For more information
check out them out on Facebook