Koala faces extinction in NSW
Koalas could disappear from New South Wales within 30 years due to a combination of drought and wildfires, a conservation scientist has warned Australian authorities.
Before the fires, koalas were not listed as endangered. However, Dr Stuart Blanch of the World Wildlife Fund said the marsupial must now be classed as officially endangered after about a third of the population in NSW was lost to habitat devastation.
Blanch told a state government inquiry that those conducting koala surveys had reported that ‘‘we might have lost 10,000 koalas from the fires and the droughts’’.
‘‘It’s brought forward a 2050 extinction projected timeline for most of the populations across the state by years,’’ he said.
Months of drought in the north of the state and in southern Queensland created perfect conditions for wildfires but also had a dire impact on wildlife.
Sue Ashton, of the Koala Hospital in Port Macquarie, NSW, said it had to provide koalas with lactose-free milk to help them avoid dehydration during the drought. ‘‘They get about 65 per cent of their hydration from leaves, but because of the drought, the leaves are too dry, even freshly picked leaves.’’
Months of historically low levels of rainfall were followed by bushfires across at least five million hectares in NSW alone, wiping out roughly 30 per cent of the koala’s habitat.
The tree dweller has a dense pelt and an instinct for climbing high to escape danger, two things that have made it particularly vulnerable to fires.
The federal government has granted A$1 million to support ongoing efforts to help zoos care for injured and displaced wildlife in the wake of the bushfire crisis.
Cate Faehrmann, the inquiry’s chairman, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that her committee had heard ‘‘overwhelming evidence of the need to protect more koala habitat as a result of the devastating loss caused by these fires’’.
The committee is due to report its findings later this year.