The Australian Government Encourages People To Help Save Koalas, Which Are on the Verge of Extinction

In some areas of South Australia and Victoria, koalas, which are listed as an endangered species in NSW, ACT, and Queensland, are in great numbers.

Flinders University researchers are already determining whether the koalas' success in southern Australia can aid in the preservation of the species.

Effort to conserve Australia's koalas

(Photo : Jordan Whitt/Unsplash)

Belair National Park is home to up to 14 koalas per hectare, making the Adelaide Hills and Mount Lofty Ranges among of the koala habitats with the densest populations in the nation, as per Phys.org.

According to Associate Professor Clode, who will serve as the master of ceremonies for this weekend's NSW State Koala Conference in Coffs Harbor, they are so numerous that they have recently relocated into suburbs (of Adelaide), traveling together across linear parks from foothill forests into residential gardens and urban parklands.

The Koala Conference, which will be held on October 27, will bring together scientists, conservation organizations, and concerned individuals to discuss the drastic measures that must be taken to conserve wild koalas in NSW and other states due to the threat of extinction all along the eastern seaboard.

To safeguard our special city koala populations, we must significantly improve the protection of old trees from construction in the suburbs, but even more crucially, she argued, we must enhance and reestablish forest vegetation along creek lines and rivers to maintain biodiversity.

Associate Professor Clode, a biologist and natural history author, will speak at the Koala Conference about habitat loss and bushfire recovery.

She will touch on some of the main ideas from her new book, which tries to draw on the work of several other Flinders University scientists in the fields of ecology, paleontology, morphology, and archaeology.

Except for small remnant populations in the Otways and Strzelecki Ranges and a few koalas that were moved to islands in Western Port, south of Melbourne, in a last-ditch effort by locals to save the species, land clearing, hunting, and devastating bushfires nearly wiped-out koalas in south-eastern Australia.

She cautioned that the residents of these refugees on Kangaroo Island and in other southern Australian regions continue to face serious risks, including increased bushfire destruction, deforestation, and climate change.

Also Read: Mass Deaths of Koalas in Australia Prompt Animal Cruelty Charges

Great refuge for koalas

Kangaroo Island is a gem for ecotourism. Off the coast of South Australia's Fleurieu Peninsula is the third-largest island in Australia, attracting tourists for its stunning beauty and plethora of animals.

Additionally, foodies go there in droves, as per Planetware.

More than a third of the island is protected by national parks and reserves, and among the best things to do on Kangaroo Island are up-close interactions with wildlife like koalas.

History of Koala on Kangaroo Island

To restore the dwindling population on the mainland, koalas were introduced to Kangaroo Island in the 1920s.

Learn more about their history and how they differ from their mainland relatives today, as per KangarooIsland.

In the 1920s, 18 koalas were released in Flinders Chase National Park to protect the diminishing mainland population from the effects of the fur trade and land clearing.

Koalas were not present on Kangaroo Island at the time of European settlement.

As the group of people free from disease grew over time, the population established itself, growing and spreading.

Only 1% of Kangaroo Island is considered to be a highly favored Koala habitat, and over time, their excessive browsing has caused harm to some eucalypt tree species over sizable habitat regions.

On Kangaroo Island, a population management program for koalas was started in 1997 to address this issue.

Bushfires in the summer of 2019 to 2020 affected koalas and their habitat in western Kangaroo Island and the population is still being actively watched.