It Was So Hot Here Last Week..........................

[longboard_ric]

................................that these little guys needed a drink.

A koala wandered on to a back porch. The owner placed a bowl of water next to it.
This is what happened.

[longboard_ric]

And this one needed a top up.

[admin]

Shane: A wonderful story. Thanks for sharing this.

[jps]

Why is We don't get to see this kind of stuff here?

Great stories!

[scotty]

Loved that.My daughter did too great post.Thanks

[beatlefreak]

Cool pics!

[melibreits]

Aaaaaawwwwww..... those Koalas are so cute!

[cjj]

Neat! Interesting little guys, those Koalas.

So, in general, are Koalas typical wild sorts of animals, or are they somewhat fearless of humans and such? I mean, are these guys only coming in for water & such because of the heat, or do you see them around a lot?

[gregga41]

Get ready for another HOT one today Shane! Forecast is for 44C. Major bushfire alerts here and in South Australia. It will also be the hottest day for Melbourne in February on record.

[collin]

haha, awesome Shane!


Sometimes I fear the stereotypes we all hear about Aussies are completely based on reality.

...like any moment I expect a Dingo to pounce on a Kangaroo as a Crocodile eats a Koala, and Dundee throws some shrimp on the barby.

Very cool though- they look totally approachable. I wish our local bears were this friendly!

[winston]

What a cool pictorial story Shane. Thanks for posting that mate. It makes me want to come back for another visit............when it's a bit cooler mind you.

[jingle_jangle]

Dundee better watch out...

[ozover50]

Great pics, Shane.

There are plenty of Koalas that live in the suburban fringes and generally you wouldn't know they're there - unless you spend hours looking up into trees. They usually come down to the ground to change trees or do a number twos..... number ones is mostly done in situ in the trees. I suspect that these little fellas came down looking for some ground level shade and perhaps respite from the wind - which is a usually a stinking hot northerly this time of year.

Normally in the wild they won't give you a passing glance - they're too busy eating or sleeping but if you pick one up watch out!! They can turn into feral little beasts that bite, kick and scratch you with their very sharp claws and of course, pee all over you - which is probably the wosrt part!

The little one in the bowl of water looks quite distressed and whilst they are fairly heat resilient if they are feeling a bit crook they don't eat, which means that they get no fluids from the eucalyptus leaves. Unfortuantely koalas are also dogged by eye disease brought about by a form of STD and when they eventually go blind they're basically stuffed. That's when they either fall out of a tree or wander on to the road and become another koala statistic.

Ugly but true, unfortunately.........

[longboard_ric]

Thanks for your questions and comments everyone.

Koalas (they are marsupials not bears), tend to avoid any human interaction, it’s probably something to do with so many of them being turned into fur coats during the early days of settlement.

Their claws are extremely sharp and can inflict some serious wounds if you tried to hold a wild koala.

While their numbers have declined substantially over the years, there are small parts of the country where overpopulation is a serious problem and relocation programs are undertaken to help preserve them and their food source.

You can still find them in outer suburbia, but they can be hard to see, as they tend to park themselves in the fork of a tree and sleep for most of the day. Typically Australian eh???

They generally obtain most of their moisture from their main food source, eucalyptus leaves. Its only in times of drought or lack of food they will actually drink water.

As far as these guys go, they must have been so dehydrated, their need for water overcame their fear of humans.

You can find everything you need to know and more at this website.

https://www.savethekoala.com/koalas.html

It could also come in handy if any kids want to do a school project on them.

And yes, today it is forecast to get to 44C. Hopefully we will get through unscathed. This weather tends to bring out the firebugs.

[ozover50]

Unfortunately the weather bureau got it slightly wrong...............

46.4 Celcius!!

Thats...........

115.5 in the old language!!

Highest Melbourne temperature on record.

36_1_47[1].gif (20.96 KiB) Viewed 1187 times

And just to prove how strange Melbourne's weather can be, tomorrow's forecast maximum is 23C.............