Community
29 July, 2023
Aussie icon in danger
KOALAS are as Australian as Vegemite or the traditional lamington – yet unlike their tasty counterparts, the koala is fast becoming endangered.
Koalas are now considered endangered in New South Wales, Queensland and the ACT as numbers plummet due to climate change, land clearing and disease.
The Australian icon was previously rated ‘vulnerable’ under the federal government’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, but its status has been upgraded.
The ‘endangered’ listing now means conserving the koala is given greater priority.
Earlier this year, the CSIRO’s best estimate about how many koalas were left in the wild was a population of about 180,000 along the east coast.
This figure was reportedly labelled as “nonsense” by the Koala Foundation’s Deb Tabart, who believed the population to be much lower at around 50,000-80,000 nationally.
And that figure is of grave concern to Warrnambool’s Bernie Lane and Cathy Finn who are working hard to ensure the future of the koala and, in particular, to ensure its habitat in Warrnambool and surrounds does not diminish further.
Both women are volunteers with Mosswood Wildlife in Koroit – a not-for-profit organisation that rescues, rehabilitates and releases animals back into their natural habitat.
“Mosswood is privately owned and ran by volunteers; it’s not open to the general public but answers calls from people who find injured wildlife, whether that be on the roads, on local streets or even in public parks or reserves,” Cathy said.
Cathy has been a volunteer at Mosswood for just over four years and said the centre deals with all native Australian animals including birds, koalas, owls and even recently a bandicoot with five joeys in her pouch.
“Sadly the mum and all five didn’t make it, but that’s the nature of our work I guess,” Cathy said.
“At the moment we’re looking after a Fiordland penguin, which was found in Portland by a resident who called Wildlife Victoria – that’s pretty special.”
Around a dozen volunteers are currently involved at Mosswood and, like Cathy and Bernie, are also concerned about the future of the koala.
“Dogs, cars and cattle are the three main killers of koalas,” Bernie said.
“As local koala vegetation becomes less and less they tend to move about more in search of food and a new home. We’d like to see more koala-friendly trees planted in Warrnambool.”
Cathy and Bernie are currently in the process of developing a koala interest group in Warrnambool, along with an interactive map which would give residents the opportunity to report any koala sightings as they occur.
"We want to further highlight the plight of our local koalas and what they are now up against,” Bernie said.
“They need and have every right to live here and we’re hoping more people will get on board and, together, work to ensure the koalas have a safe and ongoing existence.”
Once established, the interest group will focus on finding local places to develop and retain koala-friendly vegetation, track their location and movements, and further increase awareness of their plight.
“We’re also hoping to launch an interactive map in Warrnambool on Save the Koala Day, September 30 (more details in coming weeks),” Bernie said.
“The map will be simple to use and will allow people to record where they saw the koala, what state it was in and what its movements area. We will then be able to collate this data and present a very real picture of the plight of the koalas.”
