Mother Koala and Child

How lucky are we?

Just to change the subject from doom and gloom -  and nasty war-mongering politicians  -  here is a picture of what we saw on an evening walk in our nearby park on Sunday.

The mother and baby koala were walking along, minding their own business – well, the mother was walking along, the baby was on her back – they were enjoying their walk in the park when we humans, accompanied by our little dog, arrived to disrupt their stroll.

Mother koala soon assessed the situation and quickly scrambled up the nearest gum tree.

Baby koala seemed unconcerned.

As fortune would have it, my husband had a small camera in his pocket.

As the koala mother (with baby) began clambering up the tree trunk I heard myself saying something like: “C’mon, little bear; you can do it!”

What was I saying?

I have spent years explaining to people that a koala is NOT a BEAR and here I was, calling a beautiful mother koala a ‘BEAR’.

As penance, I have sung the words of Don Spencer’s children’s song a dozen or more times since then. (Annoying, but necessary).

For those reading this who are not familiar with the song -  or are not Australian, here is the first verse and chorus of this 1980s educational song:

"I’m a koala, not a bear, and I don’t think it’s fair,
  The way that people always add a word that isn’t there.
  I’m a marsupial (and proud of it),
  And there can be no doubt of it,
  I’m closer to a kangaroo
  Than I am to a bear.

   
  CHORUS

So please don’t call me a koala bear,
  I’m not a bear at all.
  Please don’t call me a koala bear,
  It’s driving me up the wall!

If your name was Tom and everyone called you Dick,
  Perhaps you’d understand why I’m sick, sick, sick -
  I’m simply a koala and I want the name to stick,
  Please don’t call me a koala bear!"

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