Protecting the iconic koala.

September is Save The Koala Month, a month dedicated to raising awareness about the decline of koalas and showing the ways we can all help save koalas.

Australia is home to a diverse range of unique plants and animals. One of Australia’s most internationally recognised animals is the koala. Koalas are now officially declared endangered in New South Wales and Queensland, and their protection has never been more important. Lack of protection, habitat destruction and fragmentation, stress, disease and emerging diseases, extreme weather events and the human-caused climate crisis, car strikes and dog attacks are pushing these unique, sleepy creatures closer to extinction every day. But all hope is not lost. By learning about and addressing the threats to koalas, we can help pave a new way forward to save them from extinction.

Koalas are important

Koalas, like all animals, have intrinsic values, which means they have value in their own right and their interests should never automatically rely on how they benefit humans. This means, we should be awarding animals with strong protection laws whether they benefit us or not. Koalas do, however, play a key role in the Australian environment and ecosystem. They provide a range of ecosystem services, which have helped shape the way the ecosystem functions. Koalas have a very complex social structure, are protective of their territories, require a selection of specific tree species for an area to be considered habitable, and have slow, regulated breeding. All of these factors naturally help control their population numbers, which in turn ensures the ecosystem stays in balance.

Koalas have complex social structures and control their population numbers

Depending on the availability of suitable food trees, an individual koala’s home range varies from 1km to 35km. These home ranges can overlap with other koalas, but they will warn each other if they are too close. With their homes becoming more fragmented, sharing territories is becoming more common. Female koalas start breeding at three or four years of age and give birth to one offspring every one to three years - depending on her age and the quality of her habitat. Her baby will live in her pouch for 6 months, and when they emerge, will stay together for another 6 to 12 months. When her baby leaves, they will live in an overlapping home range until they are ready to mate. On average, wild koalas live for 12 years. Females, however, appear to live longer than males and have reached 18 years of age.

Koalas reduce fire intensity and increase biodiversity

Koalas are nocturnal and they sleep for approximately 20 hours during the day and eat during the night. In some cases, when the koala is stressed or hungry they will move around during the day. Their digestive system has adapted to break down harsh eucalyptus leaves, which provide them will all the moisture they need to survive — except in times of drought or intense heat when the leaves become dry and must they have to seek out water sources. Adult koalas are known to eat for 3-4 hours a day, consuming 500grams—1kilogram of eucalyptus leaves per day. That’s around 233kg a year! They also break branches when eating, dropping them on the floor for ground-dwelling animals and insects. This is vital to the ecosystem as they are helping feed other animals. It also reduces the amount of biomass available to fuel fires during dry seasons, which in turn reduces the intensity of fires. Reducing tree foliage also helps light penetrate through to the forest floor, helping other plants grow and creating shelter for other animals. Their scat droppings are a vital food source for other small mammals, insects and the forest floor. This allows vegetation to grow and regenerate which increases biodiversity in the area. On top of this, birds groom koalas and use their fur in their nests as insulation.

Threats to koalas

Despite knowing that koala populations are dwindling, little has been done from a legislative perspective to protect them and ensure their survival. Their homes are continually — and increasingly — being fragmented and destroyed by land clearing, logging, and habitat destruction. When these wildlife corridors are threatened and split, koalas lose a safe path to follow. They are also victims of car strikes, dog attacks and extreme weather events. All of these factors increase the amount of stress they face and can lead to devastating disease outbreaks.

Koalas were hunted for their fur

The decline of koala populations began in the late 1800s and early 1900s when koalas were hunted for their thick, woolly fur. At the time it was shipped all over the world, including to London, the United States and Canada. During this short time frame, it is estimated that approximately 8 million koalas were killed (PDF). Their numbers have never recovered.

80% of koala habitat has been destroyed

According to the Australian Koala Foundation, approximately 80% of the koala’s natural habitat has been destroyed and much of the remaining 20% is on privately owned land and not protected. Land clearing, directly and indirectly, results in koala deaths. During the process, koalas are often crushed to death or left with broken bones after falling from the trees. Those who do survive the initial clearing experience disorientation and stress, and many die from starvation. Koalas develop strong attachments to their homes and do not want to leave or know where to go — this also makes translocation difficult as many die from the stress.

So why are we still clearing land? Habitat is predominantly cleared to make room for animal agriculture, in particular, cows — beef, dairy, and leather, and sheep — lamb and wool. Data from the Australian government’s National Greenhouse Accounts (NGA) shows that animal agriculture was the leading cause of land clearing between 2010 and 2018. Mining and infrastructure are also responsible for land clearing, however, is minor in comparison to grazing for farmed animals.

A study by the Wilderness Society found that between 2018 and 2019, 92,718 hectares of likely koala habitat was destroyed across Queensland, with approximately 80% (or 73,825 ha) attributable to beef and leather production.

Developments and expanded road networks have increased car strikes and dog attacks

During the night, koalas descend from the trees in search of new food within their home ranges. Development and infrastructure such as fencing and road barriers, are a threat to koala safety, as they impede movements and disrupt their natural behaviour. As their home ranges are becoming increasingly fragmented, many are forced to cross roads, placing them at risk of being hit by cars. Over 80% of car strikes are fatal for koalas.

As trees are cleared and farms and houses fill the space, encounters with domestic dogs have increased. These encounters spike in September during koala breeding season. Around 75% of dog attacks are fatal for koalas. On farms, koalas have also been stomped to death by cattle as they try to move between trees or seek out shelter.

Extreme weather events are on the rise

Droughts, fires, and floods all impact koala populations. They are responsible for the loss of up to two-thirds of the NSW koala population. Koalas rely on the leaves for moisture, but during times of drought and heat waves, leaves become dry, leaving the koalas dehydrated*. As a result, many die when they are unable to find water sources. Scientists estimated that over 60,000 koalas were killed during the 2019/2020 bushfires alone. And these extreme events are only going to keep occurring. 

Disease and injury

For thousands of years, koalas have been at risk of contracting two major diseases, Chlamydia and Koala Retrovirus (KoRV). Chlamydia in koalas can lead to blindness, painful cysts in their reproductive tract, infertility and even death. While these diseases have been around for thousands of years, the number of koalas infected has risen due to populations being chronically stressed by the threats to their existence. When a koala becomes stressed, their immune system becomes depressed which makes them more susceptible to contracting diseases. When they contract a disease, it is almost always fatal, or they are so compromised that they are euthanased. Mange is an emerging disease that is threatening their survival. Seeing a koala on the ground, sitting, and hunched over is a sign of stress, dehydration, disease, or injury.

What we can do to help koalas

“There is still time to save this globally iconic species if the uplisting serves as a turning point in koala conservation. We need stronger laws and landholder incentives to protect their forest homes.”

Dermont O’Gorman WWF 

Live an animal-friendly lifestyle

Eating animal-friendly, vegan meals reduces our environmental impact dramatically. While crop farming isn’t perfect, it still requires less land than a diet that includes animal products. This is because animal farming requires land for the animals, as well as land for their feed, which is an inefficient use of resources. Researchers estimate that if the entire world adopted a vegan diet, our total agricultural land use would shrink from 4.1 billion hectares to 1 billion hectares — a reduction of 75%!

The area of grazing land operated by beef cattle/sheep businesses was estimated to be more than 336 million hectares; over 40 per cent of the total area of Australia.

Drive carefully

When driving, always be on the lookout for koalas, other wildlife, and animal crossing signs, obey speed limits, slow down on corners, and at dusk and dawn. If you regularly drive in rural areas, install additional spotlights, light bars, wildlife car whistles, or ultra sonic sound devices.

Be prepared

Save wildlife care group numbers in your phone, download the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) wildlife rescue app on your phone, and carry a wildlife care kit in your car, in case you see an injured koala or another wild animal. Before you stop, please ensure it is safe for you. If you are unable to stop, make note of where you saw the animal and call a wildlife rescue group when you find a safe area to pull over. Please remember that koalas are wild animals and extreme care should be taken if you are trying to rescue them — they may bite you and have large claws. We always recommend contacting a rescue group before trying to rescue them.

Reduce the chance of a dog attack

Koalas can be about in both urban and rural areas. If you live in an area with koalas, you can help reduce the number of incidents, by:

1. Keeping dogs and cats inside or in a secure area with a koala-proof enclosure, that is close to your house during the night.

2. Ensuring the enclosed area does not contain any trees that koalas might seek.

Lobby the government

Koalas need more protection. Write to your local and state governments, asking them to end logging wherever there is koala habitat, colonies and/or koala sightings, build animal crossings (bridges or tunnels), and research vaccinations for common diseases. There are very few koala zones left, and the NSW LNP almost destroyed ‘environmental zones’ with legislation changes. In Queensland, researchers were surprised to find koalas using the new crossings just three weeks after they were built.

You can also be a voice for koalas by writing and lodging submissions regarding local developments or legislative changes that impact them. Submissions allow you to raise points of concern, objections, and/or recommendations.

Support rescue groups

If you are financially able to support koala rescue groups, here are a few: Australian Koala Foundation, Koala Rescue QLD, Moreton Bay Koala Rescue, Adelaide Koala Rescue, Koala Hospital Port Macquarie, Friends of the Koala, Wildcare Australia Inc, Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital, Australians For Animals, NEFA, and Port Stephens Koala Sanctuary.

Become a wildlife carer or wildlife volunteer

If you are interested in becoming a wildlife carer you should contact a local wildlife care group. They can advise you about suitable training programs on wildlife rehabilitation and strict permit requirements which vary across states and territories.

Support animal advocacy groups

By adding your name to petitions, and reading and sharing information from articles (like this one), you can help create a kinder future for koalas.

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