Standing at our posts, Jennifer Tobey, M.S., told us to spend a couple of minutes observing the koalas and to describe what they did during that time. But wait, they weren’t doing anything…they were sleeping! Thinking that our day at the San Diego Zoo’s “koala barn” would be spent observing sleeping koalas – I almost fell asleep myself – I was prepared for a long, boring session. How wrong was I? VERY! But first, we met our Zoo professional.


Jennifer Tobey, a graduate of Franklin and Marshall College for her bachelor’s degree, and California State San Marcos for her master’s degree, majored in animal behavior and is now at home at the koala barn. While a major in animal behavior is very important, the mastery of either psychology or comparative psychology can give you a lot of background in research; a huge part of observing animal behavior is research. A part of the Behavioral Biology Division, Ms. Tobey studies the behavior of koalas. By using data sheets, a part of Ms. Tobey’s job is to observe and record certain actions such as sleeping, alertness, locomotion, scent marking, eating, pacing, grooming, and other behaviors such as interactions with other individuals. She also collects data in the form of excretion fluids (urine and feces – gross!) also known as hormone data. By collecting this type of data, and transferring it into a type of bar graph called a histogram, it is much easier for specialists in Ms. Tobey’s area of work to determine when a koala is the most, or least, active. Enough about data sheets and histograms, let’s go into the “barn.”

To tourists and interns alike, only the outdoor and a few indoor exhibits are available for koala viewing. Behind the scenes, though, there is another building that houses the love birds and opera singers. Following Jennifer into a cool, roofed enclosure, we were introduced to one of the most studied factors in koala behavior: reproduction. One of the main questions in the koala barn is why has breeding been so successful? Most of it has to do with pairing. Finding the perfect mate, based on scent and vocalization, requires the exchange of koalas between zoos, but more importantly, the timing is most critical.

Female koalas are the most fertile when they are in a certain phase called estrus. During this time, koalas’ hormones change and they become much more active in preparation for reproduction. To be able to distinguish estrus from regular activity, researchers and keepers at the San Diego Zoo have begun to use small devices, or “glorified pedometers” according to Ms. Tobey, that record activity levels. Displaying data on a basic readout, these devices can tell the research specialists whether or not the koala has been active over a certain period of time.

Estrus and related activity is also exhibited by vocalizations. When observing vocalizations, Ms. Tobey records the length and pitch of each vocalization. Special microphones make listening to the guttural calls of koalas a lot easier. Surrounded with a wind screen to cancel out minor interferences, and connected to bulky headphones, these microphones allow observers to hear exactly what the mic is pointed at. Attached to a digital recording device, the research specialists are able to both listen and digitally record what they are hearing. “With animal recordings,” she said, “we want to make sure we’re getting the entire vocalization.” You really get to learn how to multitask observing koala vocalization! What a noisy and busy job!

Tawni - Animal Careers Team

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