Are koalas endangered in 2013

Answer 1

As of 2013, koalas are not endangered. Current population estimates by the Australian Koala Foundation put the figure at around 80,000, but the trend seems to be dropping. Although the koala is not endangered, on 30 April 2012, the federal government moved to include koalas on the list of threatened species. The 'threatened' designation only applied to the most at-risk populations in Queensland, NSW and the ACT.

During the late 1800s, koalas became an export commodity for their fur, mostly for export to the USA. Due to koala numbers dwindling and public outrage, laws were enacted protecting the koala and imports were banned by the USA in the late 1920s.

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, there are calls to change their status to "vulnerable", where the numbers reduced by over 60% in the last decade. The NSW Government listed the koala as "rare and vulnerable" in 1992, and following protective measures, this has been changed to "vulnerable". Admittedly, the koala has all but disappeared on the NSW central coast. In Victoria, the koala is not on the threatened species list at all, and in some protected and remote regions, there is actually an overpopulation problem.

Even international conservation groups cannot agree. Meanwhile, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the koala as "least concern", while the US Endangered Species Act lists the koala as "threatened".