What is the current population and the population now of koalas?

Answer 1

The Australia Koala Foundation estimates that koala numbers in the wild have dropped to below 80,000.

As a species, the koala is not endangered in Australia, but some local populations have been reduced considerably.

The conservation status of koalas varies from region to region in Australia. For example, due to farming, land clearing and habitat loss, native koalas were eradicated from Western Australia and South Australia in the last century, but moves have been made to reestablish new colonies in both states. Currently, koalas are thriving on Kangaroo Island in SA, and in other isolated colonies.

Koalas are still listed as "common" in most parts of Queensland, but in the southeast region of Queensland, their status will soon be changed to "vulnerable", following a drop of over 60% in koala numbers in the past decade.

The NSW Government listed the koala as "rare and vulnerable" in 1992, and following protective measures, this has been changed to "vulnerable"; as a result, koala numbers are improving. In Victoria, the koala is not on the threatened species list at all, and in some protected and remote regions, there is actually anoverpopulation problem. Where new colonies have been established on Kangaroo island, off the coast of South Australia, there is also beginning to be some concern regarding overpopulation.

Answer 2

The Threatened Species Scientific Committee of the Australian Government has put the koala population in the 'hundreds of thousands'. However, the Australia Koala Foundation believes a more realistic outlook is that koala numbers in the wild have dropped to below 80,000.

Current estimates suggest the figure could be anywhere between 40,000 and 100,000.

Answer 3

The population trend of the koala is decreasing. Although the koala is not officially endangered, there is much lobbying by conservation groups and other interested parties to see the koala's status officially declared "endangered", so that more can be done to protect koala habitat, which is also decreasing.