Koalas may look cute and cuddly – but really, they’re not. But they are facing extinction in NSW by 2050, particularly as a result of habitat destruction, and they do need our help to ensure they don’t die out.
September is Save the Koala Month and with spring in the air, koalas, especially young males, are on the move, making them more vulnerable to dog attacks, road strikes, and other threats.
The Australian Koala Foundation and Lismore-based Friends of the Koala (FoK) are celebrating Save the Koala Month with a 30 Days, 30 Ways to Help Our Fluffy Friends campaign that culminates with Save the Koala Day on 30 September.
Locally, people and businesses can get involved in supporting the proposal for the Richmond River Koala Parks (RRKP).
Conservation groups and local communities are calling on the NSW government to permanently protect 56,200 hectares of state forests in the Richmond River Valley and along the southern Richmond Range (south of the Bruxner Highway), essential to the preservation of the genetically different koala populations.
Connecting a series of smaller parks
The proposed RRKP would connect a series of smaller parks that would, in turn, interconnect areas of high-quality koala habitat in the Richmond catchment. This would encompass 28,000 hectares of Nationally Important Koala Areas, designated by the Commonwealth government as a priority for protection.
FoK is one of the key local organisations that rescues koalas and supports them to be returned to the wild. They also run the fully-accredited Northern Rivers Koala Hospital that admits at least 350 koalas per year and has 23 outdoor enclosures, two ICU cages and one ICU room. They can house 23 adult koalas, four to six joeys and up to four females in their permanent enclosure.
Maximising the chances of successful rehabilitation
They started a hospital upgrade in June. ‘To maximise the chances of successful rehabilitation and long-term survival for koalas in an increasingly challenging environment, it is essential that we remain at the forefront of scientific research into koala health,’ explained FoK in a recent press release.
‘This includes advancing preventative healthcare strategies and contributing to the development of critical interventions such as vaccines for chlamydia and koala retrovirus.’
Bangalow Koalas are continuing their ambitious target of planting 500,000 koala trees by the end of 2025 with 459,137 trees planted so far.
You can get in touch, join one of their planting events, or perhaps provide land to be planted. From Tweed’s Team Koala group to FoK, to Bangalow Koalas, there are plenty of ways to get involved, making sure these iconic Australian koalas don’t become extinct in NSW.
Aslan Shand, editor
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