Koalas are about as Australian as it gets. Right up there with Akubras, magpies and of course, the loveable wombat. Australia without koalas just doesn’t make sense!
Koalas can live for 15 years or more under the right conditions. Unfortunately, the “right” conditions are becoming more and more rare these days.
Since 2012, the Australian government has listed the koala as a vulnerable species under the Federal EPBC Act. However, organisations like the Australian Koala Foundation have long recommended that their status be updated to “critically endangered” as there could possibly be as few as 43,000 left in the wild.
All About Koalas
As stated, koalas live in open forest and woodland communities – because of that, they’re typically found along the coast. A lot of people don’t realize that they actually have poor vision and tend to rely heavily on other senses, particularly the strength of their hearing and smell.
Another interesting fact has to do with the koala’s diet. They tend to eat primarily varieties of eucalyptus leaves and a few other related species. They usually consume about 500 grams of leaves per day, which is roughly the equivalent of a small head of lettuce. Their diet is heavily dependent on water, but they actually get up to 50% of their daily water consumption directly from these leaves. This is part of the reason why they never really have to climb down out of trees for a long period of time (with the obvious exception of particularly hot or dry periods, of course).
Where Have the Koalas Gone?
Ultimately, the reason why we’re seeing such a significantly diminished koala population these days has to do with their habitat – or lack thereof. Thanks to the fact that so much of the koala’s critical habitat has already been fragmented or entirely lost, the remaining population is much more susceptible to issues like disease, drought and even climate change.
Urban expansion, for example, is often seen as a significant boost to humans – but far too often, we fail to realize the devastating effects it can have on our furry little friends in particular. As our cities get larger – particularly along the coastal regions – koalas deal with issues like vegetation loss, the introduction of new threats by domesticated animals and more. Even vehicle strikes have claimed the lives of a surprising number of koalas, threatening their long-term survival prospects as a species moving forward.
To their credit, national environmental protection efforts of the koala populations in QLD, NSW and ACT has been significantly strengthened over the last few decades. The federal government has long been in the process of developing a set of guidelines to help assist landowners, landholders, businesses and even entire industries in terms of activities that will have a major impact on the koala population in these areas. Therefore, one of the most critical things we can do to protect the koalas involves listening to these recommendations whenever possible.
Since 2008, the Australian government has also devoted more than $13.6 million in funding aimed at protecting this fragile population as much as possible. But at the same time, we also need to acknowledge that we’re not the only creatures that inhabit this important planet of ours. Sometimes seemingly small decisions that we make can have a major impact on populations like the koala and especially when it comes to topics like urban development and climate change, we all need to be a little more mindful of the devastating ripple effect that can be caused for the sake of our own “convenience” moving forward.
It’s Time to Do Our Part – Together
The koala is one of the most iconic animals to ever call Australia its home, yes. But make no mistake about it: this population is endangered and sadly, this seems to be one trend that shows absolutely no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
But together, we can all create a meaningful difference to protect our four-legged friends in the future. By understanding how important they are and what an essential role they play for all of us, collectively we can all do our part to help make sure that these wonderful little creatures survive as long as possible.
