Why is the koala endangered and what is done to help them survive?

Answer 1

Firstly, as of 2012, koalas are not endangered. In the past, there were threats such as when 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, where there is an overpopulation problem, 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.

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".

Being protected in the early part of the 20th century brought the koala back from the brink of extinction. Many things are being done or trialled to prevent their becoming vulnerable in other areas.

It is up to the individual state governments in Australia to determine how koalas are best helped. Trials have been done to build special passages (as mentioned above) for koalas to travel under roadways to reach feeding grounds. For many years, the Redland Shire (now city) of southeast Queensland maintained speed limits on roads for certain seasons of the year and times of the day, to minimise the risk of koalas been hit by cars. The trials were unsuccessful, and subsequently scrapped. Other trials have seen the management of housing estates, where the keeping of domestic pets such as dogs is tightly controlled, to minimise danger to koalas. In some areas, eco-passages have been built for koalas and other native wildlife to safely cross over or under busy roadways.

Some housing developers try to "buy" government approval for large housing estates by including plans for koala hospitals to be built within their areas of planned development. Sometimes local governments will not compromise the safety of koalas with such a ridiculous scheme, and refuse approval for such housing applications. Research on koala needs is constantly being carried out, and other areas have koala and native wildlife hospitals anyway, seeing a need for such a facility with the increasing numbers of koalas being injured by cars, people or dogs.

The Australian Koala Foundation works actively to help preserve this iconic Australian marsupial.