A group of male koalas were filmed grooming and playing together, in contrast to their solitary reputation, probably as a result of an unusually dense population in southern Victoria
By James Woodford
6 February 2025
Koalas are usually regarded as solitary animals, but new footage is revealing a more gregarious side. Darcy Watchorn at Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia, filmed male koalas grooming each other, playing, smelling each other’s genitals and spending long periods together in close physical contact. “They were being ridiculously cute,” says Watchorn. Read more Lions' record-breaking swim across channel captured by drone camera
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Adult male koalas generally avoid each other. If they do interact it is usually aggressive and involves fights over females, often leading to serious injuries.
Watchorn thinks the extraordinary friendliness he observed was the result of too many koalas being crowded together. The population at the colony at Cape Otway in southern Victoria exploded after koalas were released there in the 1980s, but habitat fragmentation meant there was little space in which they could disperse.
He captured the behaviour in 2015, but only released the footage now after realising the significance of these interactions, the likes of which have never been seen before.