Wild NSW koalas to be extinct before 2050

A year-long New South Wales parliamentary inquiry has found koalas are on track to become extinct in the wild in NSW well before 2050 without urgent intervention to stop the destruction of their habitat. The inquiry’s report found previous estimates of 36,000 of the marsupials in the state were probably outdated, not least because they omitted the effects of the 2019-20 bushfires. The fires destroyed almost a quarter of the koala habitat on public land. ‘‘The committee agrees with evidence that koalas were tracking to become extinct by 2050 before the bushfires,’’ the inquiry concluded. ‘‘The committee expresses its sadness and concern for the once-thriving Pilliga population, which has become extinct over the last decade.’’