Koala Research

Meet ... Scruffy

He started it all!

Imagine this - a tiny grassy flat beside a dry stream, surrounded on three sides by steep stony hills. Twisted black-barked Ironbark trees leaning over the tiny flat, but near the creek an island of smooth, white Manna Gums and Swamp Gums - a paradise for a mature male koala. Scruffy was the King in this Castle in the Bush. He had enough sweet Manna Gum trees to eat, and a few other species for variety, and several lovely females up- and down-stream (who of course always came to him in December when their biological clocks started ticking). Mature, content and in the prime of his life, he met a human couple and proceeded to change their lives.

Scruffy was at peace with the world. He knew no fear and looked on new things with curiosity and interest. His home was also a popular picnic ground, so he experienced noisy human parties, campfires, barbecues, children playing in his trees and sliding down his hills, even a visit from two horses, their riders and their dog. So two new humans were nothing special, I'm sure. Still, he treated us with respect, looked at us with interest and made himself available for countless photographs.

For me, Scruffy changed the way I saw Koalas. He proved to me that he was an individual, different to other koalas, unique. His appearance became so familiar to us that we could never mistake him for another, and even now, years later I can still picture him. I started to compare other koalas to him and realise the differences, not only in looks but in attitude. He provided the starting point for a Koala Research Project that has become a focus of our lives and of Echidna Walkabout.

From him, we learned to distinguish koalas by their nose pattern and general appearance. We learned about koala poo and what a pile of it can tell you about a koala's movements. We watched him eat, sleep, scratch and move around, both in the trees and on the ground. We heard him bellow, and learned to mimic the sound. Most importantly though we started to appreciate what a koala is, and came to respect them all, because of him.

The last thing he did for us remains the most memorable for me. I was walking alone down the track towards his range when I saw him directly in front of me, low down in a tiny sapling. I went closer. He was at about eye-level, and so I slowed down to avoid disturbing him, but I approached to within two metres of him. He turned towards me, looked at me for a full minute with a deep intelligence and awareness. He sniffed the air in my direction, then turned back to his tree, relaxed and unconcerned to continue his rest. He didn't look at me again. I believe he knew it was me. At that time we had known him for seven years, so it is very likely that he did know me.

We never saw Scruffy alive again. The next time we went up there we couldn't find him, and the time after that, after thorough searching, we found his dead body in the creek. We brought him out and buried him under a sweet pile of gum leaves. We thought he might like that.

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