About Koala Djadja

pretty 12 month old female koala

Djadja

by Janine Duffy, Koala Clancy Foundation

Koala Djadja is a beauty, and always has been.

Since the first time we saw her, in October 2016 as a baby, she has been photogenic. She is smily! She has big ears!

koala joey looking at viewer cuddling mother
Baby Djadja photogenic as anything at 8 months old.

It’s not surprising – she comes from a beautiful family. Her mother is Babarrang, a blonde stunner that has been part of our research population since 2013. Babarrang is a great mother, and has had 5 joeys in the time we’ve known her.

Djadja is Babarrang’s second daughter. Both of Babarrang’s daughters live fairly close to their mother, even though they are fully independent. But this isn’t always the way it works.

wild female koala with joey on back
Joey Djadja with mum Babarrang in October 2016

Over the years we’ve watched a few mother-daughter pairs. Some daughters stay close (Smoky & Pat, KiKi & Kozo, Ngardang & Lakorra,YuYu & Coco), even sharing the home range of their mother, for many years after they become independent. Some daughters leave as soon as they are weaned (YuYu & KiKi, Ngardang & Winjku), and travel far. We don’t know why.

But it is fair to guess that a high proportion of the female koalas in an area are related to each other. There are 8 females living within 1km of Djadja and she is closely related to 3 of them (that we know of).

smiling koala side view
Djadja grown up and independent in 2020


….


If you see a wild koala in the You Yangs please:
Stay 10 metres away from the tree,
Keep dogs on leads and 100metres away,
Don’t try to touch a koala or the tree,
If you can take a picture and send it to me! I might be able to identify her/him for you. President@koalaclancyfoundation.org.au

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