Koala in my backyard this morning ...

[Head in the Clouds]

Spring is here! Koalas come to sleep in our trees. This guy is a bit late to bed (party animal!). Caught him on his way up the tree for some shut eye. Enjoy....:D

[Head in the Clouds]

The dogs love koala spotting too...... :D

[Head in the Clouds]

another ...

I'll try to get some better ones this arvo when he comes down to party again .... :D

[lynnma]

another ...

I'll try to get some better ones this arvo when he comes down to party again .... :DOh Kate they are WONDERFUL.. we lived in Aussie (all over) for five years and never saw a Koala... great shots :clap :clap :clap

[LBG]

Spring is here! Koalas come to sleep in our trees. This guy is a bit late to bed (party animal!). Caught him on his way up the tree for some shut eye. Enjoy....:D
Thats crazy! Amazing that was in you backyard! I dont think Ive ever seen one even in a zoo. Love to see more if you have them...lbg

[LBG]

Thats crazy! Amazing that was in you backyard! I dont think Ive ever seen one even in a zoo. Love to see more if you have them...lbg

PS. Are they as mean as I hear they are?

[Head in the Clouds]

They certainly are not something you'ld want to pick up and cuddle!
They have huge claws and are incredibly strong, but are fairly slow and even the big ones are not that big. (i'll try to get a shot so you can see their size)

Quite often i've heard of dogs coming off second best in a fight - i've heard that the owner of a Rottwiler (sp?) had a $1,000 vet bill on his hands after his dog decided to take on a koala!!

Thankfully our dogs just keep their distance and bark like nothing on earth! :thumb

He's still asleep up the tree at the moment, but hopefully i'll get some better shots this arvo when he comes down. I'll post them so you can have a sqwizz.

Thanks for looking. :D

[Head in the Clouds]

A few more ..... LBG - the claws should give you an idea .....
the picture with the dogs gives you and idea of the size ....

[Head in the Clouds]

:d ......

[LBG]

A few more ..... LBG - the claws should give you an idea .....
the picture with the dogs gives you and idea of the size ....

They dont look as cute as the stuffed ones they sell here. They are also a dark in color. The stuffed ones here are all white. They look like a pretty good size though. What do they eat? Are they carnivors?

[Head in the Clouds]

another ..

[Head in the Clouds]

last one ..... (i really need to get myself a smugmug account!)

[LBG]

another ..
Im blown away! It is so crazy to me that that thing is in your backyard. For someone in the US (well maybe just me) that is awesome.

[cletus]

For someone in the US (well maybe just me) that is awesome.
:nod

Great pictures kate!

[Head in the Clouds]

Hehheheh :rofl Sorry. that's kind of funny. Nope they're not carvavors. They eat gum leaves and that's it. Part of their problem unfortuanately, destruction of their native habitat has forced them into pockets where the gums are. (they are by no means on the endangered list though!)

The cute and cudly ones that are sold to tourist actually cause problems here, 'cause the tourists then think that they are cudly and friendly and go and take 'happy snaps' and pat them and then wonder why they've just lost an ear!

The colour of them depends on what part of Australia they are from. The ones in central australia or in the Nortern Territory are a lot lighter (because its so hot), but definately not white. You can get albino Koalas, but they are pretty rare.

Koala update- he's found himself a much larger and higher tree to spend the day!

Thanks for all the interest! :D

[GREAPER]

For me, living in the states it is incredible that you have the chance to shoot these in your backyard.

Do you have racoons in australia?

Because I was thinking it might be a similar thing, I have a racoon that lives in a tree in my yard and it is always tipping our garbage cans over. Maybe seeing a racoon would be as strange to you?

[Head in the Clouds]

Hi Greaper,

Yep your right! I loved seeing lynnma's shots of a 'chipmonk'?! or it might have been a doormouse? i can't remember, but it had its mouth full of a whole lot of seeds! soooooo cute! and the shots of squirrels are REALLY cool too! I love them!

Nope, we don't have racoons here - they sound pretty cool! grab some shots and post them! Are they the things that look like skunks but don't smell?

[GREAPER]

I dont have any "good" shots of a racoon, this is one of my brother's


http://asioimages.smugmug.com/photos/7213018-M.jpg

He is one of the reasons I became interested in photography and I like his work a lot.

Here is a link to his galleries if your interested.

GREAPER's brother' smugmug site (http://asioimages.smugmug.com)

They are not easy to get photo's of. They are VERY nocturnal. Ussually if you see one in the daytime you should stay welll clear, it may be ill or rabid.

[Head in the Clouds]

oooooo - but he's so cute! all fluffy!
do they bite people? and do people get rabies (sp?) from them do they?
That's scary. I don't think we have rabies in Australia ... not sure though. scary stuff.
Looks like racoons would behave a lot like our possums, get into the bins and live in the roof and carry on like pork chops at night!?
Don't have any good shots of possums,but here's one so you get the idea....(not one of my shots)

I don't think i've ever seen one during the day ... (except road kill !)

http://images.google.com.au/images?q=tbn:MpA4rGpaCa8J:www.echidna.edu.au/photo_album/august_2002_earthwatch/048%2520EW%2520Aug%252002%2520Brushtail%2520possum .jpg (http://images.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://www.echidna.edu.au/photo_album/august_2002_earthwatch/048%2520EW%2520Aug%252002%2520Brushtail%2520possum .jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.echidna.edu.au/photo_album/august_2002_earthwatch.htm&h=485&w=619&sz=71&tbnid=MpA4rGpaCa8J:&tbnh=104&tbnw=132&start=12&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpicture%2Bof%2Bpossum%26hl%3Den%26lr% 3D%26cr%3DcountryAU%26sa%3DN)

Racoons are a hell of a lot cuter though!
:D

[GREAPER]

You are right on the money, Racoons behave a lot like possums, we have those too. Racoons do get rabies, and if they do, they will behave strangly, walk around durring the day, etc. If they are ill they might attack a human.

Normally they would flee a human, but if you make a mistake and trap one in a corner, it may attack to escape.

The one in the tree is very young, there were three of them in that tree, it was first thing in the morning and I think they were climbing up there to sleep. My brother and I were at least 50 meters away and they still didn't like us being there, they climbed back down and relocated. My lens was fogged but my brother got this shot after I pointed them out to him.

I see them in the tree outside our house sometimes but always in the MIDDLE of the night.

[Head in the Clouds]

Damn! they are not very considerate to those who want to photograph them!

I didn't know you guys had possums in the states!? well, well, well. Learn something new every day. :clap

[cowgirl21]

I love your second bunch of pictures! That's awesome that you have Koala in your Backyard! I've only every seen them at the zoo! Great Shots.

Damn! they are not very considerate to those who want to photograph them!

I didn't know you guys had possums in the states!? well, well, well. Learn something new every day. :clap

[DVDR]

Spring is here! Koalas come to sleep in our trees. This guy is a bit late to bed (party animal!). Caught him on his way up the tree for some shut eye. Enjoy....:DGreat shot...always good to have the camera ready...hope he has a good nap.:thumb