When Does a Mother Koala Says Goodbye and Leaves the Young Koala Joey?

The mother koala says a final goodbye to its joey when a joey reaches the age of almost 11 to 12 months or 1 year. Some koala joeys have also been witnessed to leave their mothers as early as 10 months and as late as 13 to 14 months (very rare). After leaving their mothers, joeys begin the new and final phase of their lives in which they have to live as the solitary marsupials for the rest of their lives. However; the joeys only leave their mothers when they are capable of eating the eucalyptus leaves on their own.

The mother koala says a final goodbye to its joey when it reaches the age of almost 1 year old. Remember Koalas are the solitary animals and they prefer a solitary lifestyle.

Otherwise; a rather young koala joey may not be able to survive without its mother because they do not have well-developed teeth for grinding the eucalyptus leaves. The process of leaving their mothers starts gradually and at the end of it, the mother koalas do not tolerate their joeys’ presence any more within their territory.

Koala Joey says goodbye to its mother at 11 to 12 months old age.
Mother koalas abandon their young koala joeys when the joeys reach the age of almost 1 year (11 or 12 months old). Photo courtesy of  

Mother Koalas' Final Goodbye to Joeys
When Joeys are 11 to 12 Months Old Some Joeys Leave
At the age of 10 months Koalas are Solitary
Joeys have to Leave Joeys at 11 to 12 Months
Are Capable of Living on their Own Less than 10 Months Joeys
May not be able to survive

Mother Koala leaves baby Koala Joey.
Koala Mother Leaves its young Joey at the age of around 11 to 12 months old. This picture belongs to 

It is the mother koala which forces the koala joey to leave its territory. Therefore; it is up to the mother koalas to decide when their joeys have to leave their territory. When the mother koala thinks that the right time to expel its joey has come, they start showing aggressive behavior towards them. At this point; if a joey comes near its mother to hop on its mother’s back, the mother koala aggressively keeps the joey away.

The mother koalas start showing aggressive behavior towards their 12 months old joeys and don’t let them sit on their back. This keeps on happening and after sometime a joey understands that it’s the right time to leave and live on my own.

Such aggressive interactions keep on occurring unless the joey understands that it can no longer go near its mother and finally decides to live on its own in the nearby area. Even after saying goodbye the koala joeys stay near their mother’s territory for almost 2 years of time.

Mother Koalas show aggressive behavior towards their joeys when they grow up
The mother koalas show aggressive behavior towards their joeys when they become bigger and expel them from their territory. Photo courtesy of  

Mother Koala Decides
To Expel its Joey Mother Koala Expels Joey
Through Aggressive Behavior After Leaving its Mother
Joey Lives in Nearby Territory

Mother Koala teaches Koala Joey.
Mother Koala is primarily responsible for teaching koala joey about the whole environment in which it has to live. This picture belongs to 

Usually; the male koala joeys are the ones that are not tolerated at all by their mothers at the age of around 11 to 12 months. On the other hand; the female joeys are rather tolerated by their mothers for marginally longer period of time. Therefore; the process of leaving their mothers early or late is also dependent on the gender of the koala joeys as well (some extent).

The male koala joeys are the ones that say goodbye early to their mothers rather than the female koala joeys. Initially; they are tolerated by their mothers in with the home territory but later they are expelled further.

Initially; both male and female koalas are tolerated by their mothers within the suburbs but their mothers never let joeys come nearby at this stage of their lives. Later; the female koala joeys rather live closer to their mother territories while the male koala joeys have to leave further away after around 2 years of time to find a new territory (far away) of their own.

Male Koalas Joeys
Are Expelled First Female Koala Joeys
Are Tolerated by Mothers Male Koala Joeys
Establish Far Away Territory Female Koala Joeys
Live Near their Mother's Territory

A lonely Koala Joey without its mother.
Picture of a Lonely Koala Joey without its mother. A lonely koala joey without its mother shows a huge discomfort. This picture belongs to 

A rather younger koala joey (6 to 8 months old joeys) starts squeaking as soon as its mother is not within its reach. Mothers realize their dependency and allow them to hop on their backs. Usually; an 8 months old koala joey can only hop on its mother’s back and it is big enough to fit inside its mother’s pouch.

Mother koalas make sure that their young joeys can live on their own and only then they decide to isolate them from themselves.

On the other hand; a rather older koala joey at around 10 months and onwards are not dependent on their mother for anything. Even if it is away from its mother, it only squeaks out for her mother’s help at the time of some real danger. Otherwise; it often stays away from its mother and feed on eucalyptus leaves on its own. This is the time when the mother koalas decide to leave them and force them live on their own.

Around 10 months the koala joeys are not dependent on their mothers
At the age of 10 months the koala joeys are usually not dependent on their mothers any more. Photo courtesy of  

6 to 8 Months Old Joeys
Stay with their Mothers At 10 Months Old
Koala Joeys are not Dependent on Mothers

Mother Koala Abandons its Koala Joey.
Picture of a female Koala and its young koala joey. Abandoning their young ones is very natural within the wild koalas. This picture belongs to  

The dominant male koalas also play the crucial role in expelling the male koala joeys from their territories. The dominant males are usually very aggressive towards any male juvenile koala. They usually tolerate female koalas and keep them in their territories along with their mothers for mating purposes. On the other hand; the male koala joeys when they leave their mothers, they are not so lucky.

Male koalas after leaving their mothers have to leave for far flung areas because the dominant males do not tolerate their presence within their territories.

The male koala joeys have to establish their own territories and they are expelled to the far-off areas by the dominant males. Initially; the male joeys live on basic survival while later when they become fully mature, they establish their own territory by challenging the other dominant males.

Dominant Male Koalas
Don't Tolerate Juvenile Koalas Dominant Male Koalas
Do Tolerate Juvenile Female Koalas Juvenile Male Koalas
Establish Territory Far Away Juvenile Female Koalas
Tolerated by Dominant Males

Male Koala joeys are not tolerated by their mothers and also dominant male koalas.
The male koala joeys are not tolereated by their mothers and also by the dominant male koalas. Therefore; male koalas live in the far away areas. Photo courtesy of  

Lastly; koalas are the solitary mammals, therefore; saying goodbye to their mothers and living alone are the normal course of action within their lives. Almost all the marsupial arboreal which we have studied so far are the solitary animals and their young ones have to say goodbye at the juvenile age. Koalas and tree kangaroo (not the kangaroos) are the prime examples in this regard.

Most of the marsupial mammals including koalas are solitary. Therefore; leaving their mothers at the young age and living on their own is the part of their lives.

Kangaroos are one of the most famous marsupial mammals which live a non-solitary lifestyle as they live in groups. On the other hand; most of the placental arboreal mammals are social animals i.e., chimpanzees, gorillas, baboons, lemurs and orangutans etc.

Koalas are
Solitary Animals Most of Marsupial Arboreals
Are Solitary Animals Tree Kangaroos are
Also Solitary Animals Arboreal Placental Mammals
Are Social Animals

Koalas are solitary animals and live alone.
Koalas are solitary animals, therefore; they prefer to live alone and that's why the mother koalas expel the juvenile koalas from their territories. Photo courtesy of