We in the Port Stephens area live in a most wondrous paradise and it is hard to believe that we are slowly wiping out our koala population.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
As it is Wild Koala Day on May 3, I think this is an appropriate time to let you know what is happening with our local wild koalas, why, and how we can possibly help.
Australian’s hold the most dubious record on native animal extinction rates. We are the number one country on the planet for making our native animals and birds extinct.
When I first started caring for koalas our road deaths that year were 47 killed by cars. In 2016 our death toll was 18 killed by cars.
This dramatic fall is not because of driver awareness. It is simply that you cannot hit and kill 47 koalas year after year without severely reducing the koala population.
The next biggest killer of koalas is disease caused by their immune system crashing, often due to the stress of losing their habitat.
We cut huge swathes through the bush for housing developments and cut off koalas from their breeding partners. This causes them to have to cross busy roads to get to food or a mate.
People need houses and koalas need trees so a more informed way of going about our housing developments would be to leave large wildlife corridors between them. It seems simple enough but it is not happening.
This brings us to the third biggest cause of koala deaths. Domestic dogs.
Due to development in our area our koalas have to make their way through many backyards to get to food or in breeding season a mate.
These backyards are often a dog’s territory and the koala is trespassing so the dog does what come naturally and gets rid of the trespasser. Unfortunately when a large dog shakes a small koala it does internal damage that can’t be fixed and the koala bleeds out.
A small dog can do fatal damage as a single puncture wound can lead to fatal infection. So what can we do to protect our local koalas?
Firstly become aware of their plight and realise that they have reached the tipping point to extinction. Be aware that they move around mainly between dusk and dawn, so drive appropriately.
Keep your dogs inside or in a pen at night time. Plant a koala food tree on the footpath out the front of your house. Donate to or volunteer with a local Landcare or wildlife care group.
If you see a sick or injured koala, or other wildlife in need of care, please call the 24 hour rescue line on 0418 628 483.
