Hungry Koala Called 'Claude' Invites Friends to Steal from Plant Nursery in New South Wales

Claude the koala of Australia became an animal celebrity in September 2023 after his escapades of eating eucalyptus seedlings, worth almost $4,000, from a plant nursery went viral on social media. Since then, the seed-eating koala was dubbed "leaf thief" after getting caught eating approximately 4,000 food tree seedlings at Eastern Forest Nursery near the city of Lismore, New South Wales, last year.

Almost a year had passed with seemingly no incident of a koala-related robbery, but Claude struck again recently. This time, the leaf thief bypassed security and invited his friends to steal from the same New South Wales plant nursery. The latest incident involves Claude and his gang stealing plants even during broad daylight and even with installed koala-proofed barricades around the plants.

Claude the Koala Strike Again

Claude the koala has returned to Eastern Forest Nursery with a more sinister plot this time to eat as many plant seedlings as he wants, along with some of his koala friends. According to local reports on Monday, June 3, the hungry koala has made a comeback for the nursery's sweet young seedlings, which was caught on footage by a CCTV showing the presence of multiple koalas in the property.

According to the nursery's owner, Humphrey Herington, fences have been installed on three sides of the establishment along with CCTV monitoring. These measures aim to to stop Claude the koala from ransacking their vegetation and costing them thousands of Australian dollars, as cited by a local source. However, these installations did not stop the daylight koala thief from its mission.

While Claude was originally spotted clinging on a pole inside the plant nursery before, the repeat offender was with 12 or more koalas in the trees surrounding the property, Herington adds. Despite the economic damage caused by the koala food heist, the nursery owner is optimistic in planting more trees as one of the solutions to address the struggle by Claude and his kin.

Koala Conservation Concerns

While the incident has been considered bizarre by animal enthusiasts on the internet, it also raised concerns among conservationists, sources said this week. For instance, the several instances of koalas entering the premises of the plant nursery to eat the seedlings means their food resource could be disrupted in their natural habitat. This wildlife issue has also been observed in other countries.

According to the organization World Ocean Observatory, conservationists stated that the food-ransacking behavior exhibited by Claude the koala highlights a serious issue. In particular, heavy land clearing in the area surrounding the nursery means available food resources for koalas to eat are decreasing.

The situation at the New South Wales plant nursery also resembles similar circumstances globally. In 2020, a report cited a study that showed that animals living in difficult conditions, including lack of food, are likely to engage in risky behavior.