Animal Diaries Archive

Adventures at Blackbutt

17 August 2007

Last month, I had the privilege of visiting the Zoo's rural conservation property 'Ironbark Station', which is located a few hours drive west from the Zoo. Ironbark Station is the location of the Zoo's largest eucalyptus plantation, which is planted and maintained specifically for the feeding requirements of the Zoo's koalas population. There are approx 55,000 trees planted on the property, with plans to plant more over the coming years. About three quarters of the plantation is at harvesting stage, where the trees are large and self sustaining enough for us to selectively harvest branches for feeding our koalas. The remainder of the trees should reach this stage within the next 2-3 years. Now don't be fooled, my visit wasn't just for recreational purposes. I spent the best part of the week assisting the plantation manager 'Big Mick' trimming and cropping the trees, to trim off any dead branches and encourage new vertical growth. Sounds like a pretty easy job, hey? Do you recall I just said that there are 55,000 trees, all planted in straight rows. I can tell you by tree no. 14,956 I was certainly getting a little dizzy and had started counting trees in my sleep!

In my break times, I was able to escape the never-ending mazes of trees, and got the chance to see some of the recovery and regeneration work that is being undertaken on the property, which was once farming land. I was also fortunate enough to assist with a koala tracking study which is currently being undertaken on the property, in conjunction with the Australian Wildlife Hospital. The property is used as a release site for orphaned or rehabilitated wildlife, whose former home range has been destroyed or cleared for development. It is now a thriving natural habitat for many species of animals. There are even a few enterprising koalas that have discovered our eucalyptus plantation is a haven of yummy food! Never mind, I'm sure our Zoo koalas don't mind sharing some of their dinner with their wild cousins. There certainly is enough to go around (55,000 trees worth to be exact!). Check out some of our koala keepers examining the new growth on our plantation trees.

Koalas Amanda