What problems do kangaroos face?

Answer 1

Koalas are in danger for several reasons, but they are currently not listed as "endangered".

• Man is the koala's biggest threat, causing loss of food source and habitat loss.
• Increasing urbanisation results in more koalas being killed by cars, unsupervised dogs, bushfires and even directly by cruel and irresponsible people. In particular, koalas have a range of home trees, and their territory is often split by roads through new urban developments. As a result, when koalas try to wander from one of their home range trees to another, they are hit by cars.
• The chief threat to the koala is habitat loss. Koalas inhabit prime land which man has decided is better used for housing developments. Not only do the koalas lose their sources of shelter and food, they are subject to dog attacks and being hit by cars as suburbia extends further outwards. A prime example of this is southeast Queensland, where koala numbers have dropped to 60% less than what they were a decade ago, entirely due to increased development - and where they now face extinction by 2020.
• Koalas are also subject to the disease chlamydia, which affects the koalas' fertility, and eventually leads to their death. Currently, there is no cure for this disease. At the best of times, the koala is a slow breeder, usually producing just one joey a year.

Answer 2

The problem for koalas is that people are cutting down there trees and food to put houses were they are or make them into farms so koalas have no wear to live or eat and then die faster then they make babies.

Answer 3

Koalas are protected native animals, but being protected does not shield them from a range of problems they face daily to survive. Although they are not officially endangered, that does not mean that they are free from threats to their future existence, as in some areas of Australia koala populations are decreasing.

Man is the koala's biggest problem, causing loss of food source and habitat loss. Koalas inhabit prime land which man has decided is better used for housing developments. Not only do the koalas lose their sources of shelter and food, they are subject to dog attacks and being hit by cars as suburbia extends further outwards. A prime example of this is southeast Queensland, where koala numbers have dropped to 60% less than what they were a decade ago, entirely due to increased development - and where they now face extinction by 2020.

Koalas are territorial, and they live in complex social communities where each member has a certain number of trees within its territory. When access to these trees is cut off by new roads, the koalas will still try to cross the road, and risk being hit by vehicles. Relocation of koalas is rarely successful because their territorial and social habits are largely misunderstood.

Another significant factor is predation by introduced species such as dogs and foxes. Bushfires also pose a threat to these animals.

Koalas are also subject to the disease chlamydia, which affects the koalas' fertility, and eventually leads to their death. Currently, there is no cure for this disease. In addition, koalas are susceptible to a form of leukaemia.

Answer 4

The biggest problem for kangaroos is habitat loss. Like all of Australia's native animals, they experience loss of their native habitat through leand clearing for agriculture, housing or industries.

Drought is also a problem, although kangaroos are well adapted to survive in a country that suffers frequent droughts.

Answer 5

Humans have caused problems for koalas in a number of ways.

• habitat loss through felling of trees and bushland, and creating new housing developments
• danger from cars - as habitat is reduced, koalas are forced to wander further afield to find the right eucalyptus tree for their food source
• introduction of foxes has proven to be a threat to koalas when they are on the ground and between trees
• humans have allowed domestic pets such as dogs and cats to run wild, posing a threat to koalas