Mimi
Origin of name:
Mimi is named to honour the Mimi spirits of the Top End. Mimi are lithe, dancing spirits that feature in Aboriginal art from around Gunbalanya in Arnhem Land.
Read more: https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/694354708/fabric-length-2-m-cotton-dancing-mimi and https://injalak.com/culture/
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Known since:
Koala joey Mimi was first seen on 21 July 2019 as a brand new 6 month old. So that makes his birthday around mid February 2019.
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How often seen:
He was seen 40 times in 2019, which is a lot, and just once in 2020 so far.
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Family:
Mimi has a big family in our Wild Koala Research population. His mum KiKi has four other joeys: Kozo, LuLu, and Lara in 2020. His grandmother YuYu has three other joeys: Coco, Bobo and Yarra. Kozo, his sister has a joey Indi. His father Gulkurguli is also father to Winjku, Ngardang’s joey.
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Neighbours:
Mimi is moving around a bit, but was last seen just south of his mother KiKi, in a home range at the edge of Gulkurguli’s and Bungaleenee’s. He will be safe while he is small, especially if he stays out of the way of the big boys. But as he matures he will probably have to move.
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Interesting notes:
As a baby koala Mimi was already an active little dancer. At just 7 months old he was confident climbing away from mum, and is grabbing eucalyptus leaves to taste. By December 2019, at 10 months old, he had become independent.
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Survived extreme heat/drought catastrophes:
Young male koala Mimi has already survived the following extreme heat waves and droughts.
2019: 20 December max temp: 46C
2019: 30 December max temp: 44C
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Media Appearances:
Mimi appears with his age-mate Yeera in this charming video:
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How do we have so much research data about Mimi?
Echidna Walkabout’s Wild Koala Research Project has been monitoring the koalas of the You Yangs and Brisbane Ranges for 21 years. In 1998 we discovered a non-intrusive method of identifying koalas by their natural nose markings (nose patterns). Since then we have been collecting koala research data during tours, and using it to advocate for koalas, plant trees where they are most needed, and remove weeds to improve koala habitat.
Koala Researchers employed by Echidna Walkabout are paid to find koalas and collect information +/- 310 days every year.
All our tour guests play an important part in this research, by making it possible through funding, and by looking out for koalas on our tours.
Learn more:
https://echidnawalkabout.com.au/about/conservation/