Australia’s koala population has been in decline for years, with the government classifying them as a vulnerable species in 2012 under the Federal EPBC Act in New South Wales.
In an effort to keep an accurate record of the population, government will use heat-seeking drones and sniffer dogs to conduct a census.
Koalas aren’t bears, they’re marsupials.
The Australian Koala Foundation estimates there are less than 100,000 koalas left in the wild, possibly as few as 43,000.
Habitat loss, wildfires, road accidents and domestic dog attacks are all contributing factors to their decline.
Susan Ley, the Australian environment minister, said: ‘For all our focus on koalas, scientists are telling us that there is a serious lack of data about where populations actually are, how they are faring and the best ways to help them recover after the devastating bushfires.’
‘By understanding where koalas are persisting, how they are using the remaining habitat and how they are responding to the fire impacted landscape, we can tailor on-ground efforts to ensure that action is focused where it is needed most,’ said Threatened Species Commissioner Dr Sally Box.
More than 60,000 koalas were among the animals impacted by the 2019-2020 bushfire crisis, according to a report commissioned by the World Wide Fund for Nature-Australia.
Picture: Unsplash
