DANGER or DISTRESS

If the koala is obviously injured, sitting at the bottom of a tree for a prolonged period or in clear danger from cars, dogs etc. please call 1 300 ANIMAL immediately and they will locate and send someone to assess and potentially collect the koala. The responding rescue team will not capture/move the koala if they don’t believe it is necessary – frequently a koala who turns up in an unusual location will move on if left alone (koala’s have been known to have quite suprisingly large ranges and under some conditions – such as young males seeking a new home range, males seeking females etc. - their travel is measured in kilometers not meters!

If there is no distress, danger or obvious signs of disease (more on that below), then enjoy and share the experience. Koala populations in the wild have crashed throughout their traditional home ranges and what was once a commonplace sight has become increasingly rare (something we are working to try and help change).

DO REPORT the koala sighting. There are a number of options but two sites that are run by locals and we refer to frequently are – KOALA TRACKER
and NOOSA KOALA SIGHTINGS

Knowing where koalas have been seen informs our conversations with local and state organizations when discussing habitat preservation, road mitigation and science/health research.

Please take note of your exact coordinates (believe it or not it’s sometimes really hard to find a koala even when you know the tree they’ve been sighted in!). If you have a smart phone and a sat nav app you should be able to find this information quite easily.

If you want to do even more then collect a sample of their scat from under the tree (it’s really not at all gross). Please note as much detail as you can including date, time, location and physical observations and then contact us at Queensland Koala Crusaders and we will help get your sample to researchers who are studying koala genetic diversity and health (this is potentially one of the most important new initiatives if we are going to save the species as development has isolated the populations from each other).

DISEASE

This can be a difficult one – and one that is the most likely to cause confusion and misunderstandings.

A significant percentage of the population of wild koalas in our area are suffering from disease. Sometimes it can be quite obvious however it can also be hidden and/or the full extent only becomes clear with a comprehensive health check in the hospital.

If the koala has signs of Conjuntivitis (pink, crusty and/or swelling around the eyes) or  Cystitis (also known as “dirty bottom”) then please call 1 300 ANIMALS and they will undertake to get that koala into care. Leaving a sick koala in the wild because you enjoy seeing them in your local neighboorhood can not only be fatal to that koala but also threaten the health of the rest of the local population as well – adding even more difficulty to the already challenging effort to save them.

What happens when a sick koala is taken into hospital?

First, they are given a through health check. If caught in the early stages then treatment can be given and the koala is tagged (that’s why you may see a tag in a koala’s ear – it means they’ve been in for care at least once!). They may require a substantial time in care to ensure they are fully healthy (and there are many volunteer caregivers who help support the hospitals). The rescue team then has the joyous opportunity and responsiblity to return that koala to its home. Generally they will release the koala as close as possible to the original tree or surrounding area however if it was found on/near a busy road then it will be released in a safer location nearby (always within 5k as that is the law in Queensland).

“Your” koala may be eligible to participate in a vaccine trial as well (another initiative which we have been helping to support and promote) but currently this can only be undertaken in hospital. It’s early days yet, however preliminary indications are hopeful that this will be become a useful tool in reducing the incidence of disease in the wild koala populations - giving nature a chance to recover and populations to rebound.

Unfortunately, sometimes the koala has entered the latter stages of disease (again this is NOT always visible or obvious from just looking at them) – and may in fact be suffering quietly.

Recently for example, we received a call for a koala that had been sighted in Tewantin known as Barbie. Barbie was so skinny that she didn’t even weigh enough to trigger the spring release door on our trap – and she was assessed on initial presentation to the hospital with a body score of 1 (out of 10)! Clearly Barbie had been sick for some time however it was even worse than we knew – physical examination showed substantial disease and deformity in her internal organs and there was no way she could be returned to health. The painful decision to end her suffering was required (both for her sake and also the health of the remaining local population as noted previously). All the volunteers involved were incredibly sad to say the least.

Please be assured that everyone involved in the koala conservation effort passionately loves our wild koalas – and wants nothing more than to see them return in larger numbers so we can all enjoy their presence. Please take the time to consider that saving them is not a simple thing and that human development is forcing the local populations into smaller and smaller pockets – which are surrounded by dogs and cars and isolates them from other koala populations contributing to a decline in genetic diversity and a rise in disease.

Saving them requires a collaborative approach from many groups and includes addressing habitat loss, road mitigation, health and diversity iniatiatives and more. We are the source of their problem but only we can save them now.

Koalas have been around for 30 million years and have changed little over that time, although their environment has altered dramatically.Their history is inextricably linked to that of the aboriginals who feature them in many Dreamtime stories going back 40,000 years. These revered stories feature closely observed behaviour and the koala is always given iconic status.

The scientific name for the koala is Phascolarctos cinereus meaning “pouched bear”, coined by early European naturalists who spotted koalas in the Blue Mountains. However koalas are not bears but marsupials, a subclass of mammals. They belong to a unique family group (Phascolarctidae) and only live in Eastern and Southern Australia. They are utterly unique and different to any other marsupial in this family.

The koala’s closest relative is the wombat.

Interesting fact: The word “koala” is thought to mean “no drink” in aboriginal language due to early observations that koalas did not leave their trees for water.

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Under Queensland’s Nature Conservation Act 1992 koalas were listed as ‘Vulnerable’ (to extinction).  In Victoria and South Australia the koala is simply a protected species and only offered minimal to no protection. Nationally, the Commonwealth Government listed the koala in Queensland, NSW and ACT as ‘endangered’ in February 2022.  Aggressive clearing of all native bush land including eucalypt forests continues.  The remaining eucalypt’s nutritional value has been tarnished by increased CO² in the atmosphere leading to the IUCN listing the koala as one of the 10 most vulnerable species in the world to climate change.

It is thought that from an original population of millions at white settlement, only 50- 80,000 koalas remain in the wild. Numbers have dropped by approximately 80% in the past 10 years.

Interesting (and sad) fact: Numbers dropped dramatically during the early 1900s when 4 million koalas were hunted for their fur.  Legislation stopped this in 1931.

Here’s a quote from the time by famous naturalist Ellis Troughton (1893-1974)

“A fellow feeling should make all Australians wondrous kind to the solemn little koalas, which should be granted perpetual free use of the trees as a national emblem, rather than butchered to make economic holidays.”

One might say nothing much has changed.

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Koalas are unmistakable with their large round head, big furry ears, round brown eyes facing forward on the head (like ours!) and stout round body. Koalas do not have tails. Northern koalas have soft, light grey fur but koalas in Victoria and South Australia have thicker reddish-brown fur and insulating layers of fat to protect them from the harsher climate.

Queensland koalas are smaller, weighing in at 5-6 kg for females and 6-8 kg for males. In Victoria females are up to 8 kg and males up to 12 kg.

All koalas have white fur on the chest, inner arms, ears and bottom. Their nose and palms of their paws* have no fur. Bottoms are dappled to provide camouflage when roosting high in gum trees.

Their coats act as perfect rain coats and in heavy weather they will curl into a ball, bottom wedged into a tree fork, joey safely tucked inside and ride out the storm quite comfortably. In hot weather they can be seen dangling limbs from a tree branch to keep cool.

Koalas rely heavily on other senses rather than vision. Good hearing and an incredible strong sense of smell helps them detect predators, other koalas and helps them determine which koala food trees and leaves are most palatable and least toxic to their systems.

They have strong arms and legs with large feet and sharp claws for rapid vertical climbing. The fore paws have two opposable thumbs (and three fingers) for a good grip on tree trunks while strong back legs push them rapidly upwards. The back paws have no claw on the big toe and the 2^nd and 3^rd toes are fused as a grooming claw.

Interesting fact: Koalas have individual finger prints. Gorillas, orang-utans, chimpanzees and koalas are the only animals, besides humans, to have this unique feature.

Nb. Both images are koala front paws

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Male koalas are more robust in size and can be identified by an easy to spot, strong smelling scent gland on their chest (sternum) which they rub on trees to mark territory. Female koalas are smaller with a white chest and a backward facing pouch to protect their pouched young from crumbling tree bark when climbing from tree to tree.

Interesting fact: Koala nose markings are unique and can be used for identification.

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Koalas live in forests, open woodland and along watercourses where food trees are available. They have adapted to an urban lifestyle where habitat has been partially cleared. In Victoria they have adapted to living in blue gum plantations due to loss of all other habitat. Their distribution starts west of Cairns in North Queensland, all the way down to South Australia along the coastal side of mountain ranges. Koala populations are in rapid decline, particularly in SE Queensland and local extinctions are now frequent.

Although koalas are considered arboreal, or tree dwelling animals, they will walk on the ground to reach another tree. They rarely come to the ground to drink as the moisture they need usually comes from their diet of leaves. However, climate change and the increasing incidence of droughts has affected the water content in leaf, often requiring them to use dams, creeks and even puddles on roads to access water.  On the ground they are vulnerable and can only use short bursts of speed to escape threats such as dogs, cars or people.

Interesting fact: When the temperature climbs koalas get cool. Trees have their own micro climate and trunks can be up to 8c lower in temperature than the surrounding hot air. The fur on a koala’s tummy is relatively thin so as a way to lower body temperature they sprawl on a branch, tummy down, and dangle their limbs to either side; more efficient than panting or licking and a great way to catch breezes and  conserve moisture.

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The koala diet is almost exclusively eucalyptus leaf of which they will eat a variety depending on availability and location. They do however eat some wattles, bottle brush as well as casuarinas and Melaleuca quinquinerva (a paper bark) used for medicinal digestive purposes.  They need to consume about 500 gms of leaf a day. They will eat the several varieties prominent in their home range.

Eucalyptus is toxic to most creatures. The koala’s specialised digestive system  isolates toxins in the liver and excretes them as waste. A joey in the pouch will feed on the female version of this specialised waste called “pap” at around 3 to 4 months of age to build the necessary bacteria to digest eucalyptus. As eucalyptus leaves are low on nutrients and hard work to eat, koalas are fairly sedentary, sleeping high in trees during the day and waking up to feed, mate and travel at night as well as at dawn and dusk.

Interesting fact: Koalas, particularly males, are often quite mobile during the day so look out for them, particularly during mating season.

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Koalas are solitary animals living in overlapping networks of home ranges. Range size is dictated by the abundance of suitable food trees. An individual male will try to establish dominance over the home ranges of several females, fighting off other males. This is a noisy business as anybody who has camped in the bush during spring will attest.

Interesting fact: The male koala has one of the loudest calls on the planet.

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Males begin to breed at 3 to 4 years of age and females at 2 years producing a joey every year. Birth of a tiny 2 cm jelly bean sized joey takes place after 35 days gestation between June and December in Queensland. The tiny joey clambers into its mother’s pouch and attaches to the smaller of one of two teats, where it will stay until emerging at about 6 months to ride on mum’s back and be taught how to survive in the bush. Young are weaned at 12 months and depart to establish their own home ranges after 2 years.

Koalas can live for up to 12 years in the wild but this is now rare with the increasing incidence of dog attack, disease, bush fire and car strikes.

Interesting fact: Twins are rare but do occur. Similarly, rare blue eyed koalas exist.

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In the face of rapid urban development koalas face many obstacles on a daily basis.

-       Habitat loss and fragmentation: loss of food, shelter and safe travel means a stressful life for a koala. It is the same for humans. The stress of losing a familiar “home” is thought to contribute to the increase in koala disease.

-       Cars: development means home ranges get divided by roads. Hundreds of koalas a year are killed or injured by motor vehicle strikes in Queensland. This doesn’t account for the many injured koalas who recover in the hands of dedicated carers and vets. Driving slowly in wildlife areas and looking out for wildlife at dawn and dusk helps.

-       Disease: Chlamydia is a bacterial infection carried by most koalas. The disease weakens the immune system under stress which leads to blindness and infertility. Symptoms such as swollen/pink eyes (conjunctivitis), chest infections and “wet” or “dirty” bottom (cystitis) from urinary tract infections are easily spotted in wild koalas whilst other koalas will carry this disease but show no clinical symptoms until examined.

Calling your closest carer, vet or sanctuary means the koala can be caught, examined and treated. Now a vaccine is available, some fortunate koalas can be inoculated against this disease before being returned to the wild.  However, this vaccine is still being refined and tested on wild koalas and is not available to all koalas as yet.

A koala retro virus (KoRV), similar to HIV in humans, also affects koalas and suppresses their immune systems with horrific outcomes that include a range of cancers such as lymphoma and leukaemia resulting. Stress also impacts upon the immune system by reducing its effectiveness.

-       Bush Fire (particularly high intensity burns): fragmented forests are fatal to koalas in bush fires. They have nowhere to go and whole colonies are wiped out. However some, remarkably, do survive and are cared for and rehabilitated by dedicated groups of carers.  This is less of an issue in Queensland and Northern New South Wales, but has been devastating in Southern New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria and South Australia.

-       Dogs: without appropriate wooden fencing or similar fauna-friendly fencing, koalas are easily trapped in urban back yards and many die from dog attack injuries. We all love our dogs and, with a little thought, dogs and koalas can cohabit. A few small adaptations to life with your dog can help. Confining your dog at night is a great start. Here are some popular misconceptions:

“My dog wouldn’t hurt a thing”:
Your dog may have never seen a koala and will feel threatened by the presence of such a strange animal. It will naturally attack.

“My dog would only play with it”:
Even a quick bite can kill a koala. Their skin is very soft and internal organs puncture easily. Shock is, of course, a high risk factor.

“It’s cruel to confine a dog”:
By restraining dogs at night, when koalas are most active, means that many attacks on wildlife can be avoided. Dogs enjoy the routine of being “put to bed” or “denned” at night.

“I want my dogs roaming free for protection”:
Unrestrained dogs can easy be baited or distracted. Your dog is safer at the house where he or she can guard you best.

“But I have a fence and no trees in my yard”:
Koalas climb the outside of fences to cross to other trees and get stuck in the yard with no way of escape. A tree branch propped against the fence will help.

“There’s plenty of bush for koalas at the end of the street”:
Unfortunately suburban gardens have become habitat as they connect to remnant bushland left behind when large tracts of habitat are destroyed.

Interesting fact: Dogs that help koalas? Yes. Specially trained “sniffer” (detection) dogs are used to find koala scat (poo) which helps scientists determine their usage of a particular stretch of habitat.  These dogs react to the smell of koala droppings under trees. Queensland Koala Crusaders sponsors a beautiful and talented koala detection dog called Maya. Pay her Facebook page a visit by clicking here

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Koalas drown in swimming pools if they tumble in when trying to drink during a drought. They can swim but will drown if they cannot get out of the pool. A tethered rope with a float gives a koala the chance to clamber out of the water.

Important fact: If a koala is drinking from a pool or obviously seeking water it may be unwell. Call your local koala rescue organisation for advice.

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What to do if you see a koala or find a sick or injured koala.

First check the condition of the koala. Visually obvious symptoms such as lethargy, wasted condition, brown fur, a brown, wet, smelly dirty bottom, inflamed eyes or simply not responding to external stimuli and sitting on the ground indicate the need for medical attention. If you see these symptoms do not touch the koala, keep things quiet, alert your neighbours to tie up dogs and call a koala/wildlife rescue group for advice and, if possible, wait with the animal for help to arrive.

Emergency contact information for a sick or injured koala

Brisbane

RSPCA at 1300ANIMAL (1300 264 625) can advise on your nearest rescue group.

Some other regional options include:

South East Queensland

Australia Wildlife Hospital             1300 369 652 (emergency)

Daisy Hill Koala Ambulance           (07) 3299 1032 or 0412 429 898 (day)

Moreton Bay Koala Rescue             0401 080 333 (24 hrs)

Redlands Wildlife Ambulance         (07) 3833 4031 (night)

Sunshine Coast Koala Rescue        0423 618 740/0431 300 729 (24 hrs)

Wildcare  (Gympie to Gold Coast)  (07) 5527 2444 (24 hrs)

Wildlife Rescue Sunshine Coast      0432 310 556

Wildlife Volunteers Assc. Inc.         (07) 5441 6200 (24 hrs)

Fraser Coast

Koala Care Fraser Coast                (07) 4121 3146

Granite Belt

Granite Belt Wildlife Carers             0418 144 073

Ipswich

Ipswich Koala Protection Society     07 5464 6274 or 07 3282 5035

Somerset

Somerset Region Wildlife Rescue     0400 710 651

Warwick

Warwick Wildlife Care & Rescue       0447 108 619

Whitsundays

Fauna Rescue Whitsundays             (07) 4947 3389

If the koala is injured, approach from behind and place a washing basket or cardboard box (or something similar with ventilation) over the animal to prevent it moving away and trying to climb a tree. If possible make sure the koala is in a quiet, stress-free shady place. For example, place an umbrella over the basket while you wait. Do not remove a joey from the pouch, even if the mother is dead. It is important for a vet to remove the joey from the teat. For your own safety do not touch or pick up a wild koala.

If your koala is healthy. Congratulations, this is a special experience. Make sure your visitor is safe and do report your sighting via the Koala Tracker website or via the Queensland Government’s Spot our Species App

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A few simple things can make your garden koala friendly.

Trees: Contact your local nursery for advice on the correct koala food trees for your area. Plant a variety of native species including koala food trees, wattles, bottle brush as well as shrubs and ground cover to make moving between trees easy for koalas.

Keep old growth trees. It can take 100 years for a tree to become useful to wildlife.

Fencing: fences have become a major problem as they restrict fauna movement. Make your existing fencing koala-friendly by adding a pole for koalas to climb up and over. If building new fencing use timber posts and rails with a plank along the top of the fence to be used as a walkway. Talk to your neighbour about a pole on each side so koalas have easy access from each side of the fence.

Pool: koala-proof pool fencing (eg. glass) or a tethered rope with a float in the water to help koalas climb out.

Dogs: keep them inside, tethered when in the yard, or restricted to a special area.

Watch from a distance and enjoy your special visitors.

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