Gulkurguli
Origin of name:
Gulkurguli means boy in Wathaurong, the original language of the You Yangs region.
A book by Bruce Pascoe: “Convincing Ground: Learning to Fall in Love with Your Country” includes a reference to the Wathaurong word gulkurguli.
Known since:
Gulkurguli (Gulli for short) was first seen in January 2017.
How often seen:
Gulkurguli was only seen twice in 2017, but 24 times in 2018. He was seen 90 times in 2019, and has already been seen on 21 days in 2020.
Family:
It’s unknown from where Gulli originally is, he could have come from another area of, or even outside of the You Yangs. Male koalas can move long distances in search of a home range.
Gulli has several offspring with resident females Ngardang and Kiki. Ngardang’s daughter in 2019: Winjku is fathered by Gulli, and KiKi’s son Mimi of the same age. In 2020, both Ngardang & KiKi had new joeys: Kallama & Lara, respectively. The new joeys are almost certainly fathered by Gulli too.
Neighbours:
Clancy owns the home range that Gulli is skirting around. Winberry lives to the east, and Bungaleenee and Cruiz live to the south. Females Ngardang, Lakorra, Kiki & Kozo, Mara, Wemba and Djadja are all close neighbours and potential mates.
Media Appearances:
Gulli has already made a few appearances on social media: Gulkurguli on Koala Clancy’s Facebook
How do we know all this about Gulkurguli ? Our Wild Koala Research Project has been monitoring the koalas of the You Yangs and Brisbane Ranges for 20 years, using our non-intrusive method of nose pattern identification.
Learn more:
https://www.echidnawalkabout.com.au/about/conservation/