These two male Koalas have been the mainstay of breeding in the central part of Hawks Nest for a few years.

In fact, they have fathered at least five babies in the Magic Square in the past year or two. These births indicate that the local Koala population is beginning to recover after many years of decline.

Of the five babies, we believe that at least two of them were females who have become known as "Lilly" and "Lulu".

Juvenile females tend to stay near their mothers in the same home range.

At least one of these babies was a male known as "Louis".

At 18 months to two years old, juvenile males must disperse from their mother and seek out a home range of their own. For example, Louis spent many weeks last year in Winda Woppa to set up a new territory. Unfortunately, he found no females and left the area.

After the loss of an Alpha male from a home range, it is usually many months before a new male moves into the territory.

Despite the devastating loss of our dominant males, there have been reports on the Koala Hotline of male Koala activity in both Arnie's and No Ears' home ranges.

This month a young male has been seen crossing the road in Margaret St and on two nights a male has been heard bellowing in Bowral St. It is highly likely that Louis is one of these males.

Thank you very much to those people who have reported their Koala sightings on the hotline. We really need all the information we can get to continue to understand Koala activity in town so that we can determine whether the Recovery Plan for our endangered Koala population is working. Call us on 4997 0878 at any time and leave a message on the answering machine. Date, location, your name and a description of the Koala, if possible, would be a great help.

This Koala Hotline number can always be found on the first page of the local phone directory. If you would like to talk to us directly about your Koala experience, feel free to call us at home on 4997 1550. Thank you.

Ring Great Lakes Wildlife Rescue's 24-hour phone line (4997 6388) for any sick or injured wildlife, including Koalas. Local Koala calls are passed to us.

In response to Arnie's death and a number of other wild dog/dingo incidents, Great Lakes Council is planning to revise its wild dog management plan. Please report any incident you have experienced to council's dog officer, David Oakes on 6591 7222.

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, March 20 in the Silver Dolphin Room at the Tea Gardens Hotel.