How can Koalas be both endangered and overpopulated?

Answer 1

Firstly, as of 2010, koalas are not endangered.

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 koala is not endangered these days and its official conservation status, federally, remains "Secure".

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. Kangaroo Island is one of the places where there is a koala overpopulation problem.

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.

Despite urging by conservation groups since around 1992, Australia's federal government has refused to list the koala as vulnerable. Even international conservation groups cannot agree. Meanwhile, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the koala as "potentially vulnerable", while the US Endangered Species Act lists the koala as "threatened".