According to a new study, there are fewer than 60,000 koalas left in Australia. One reason for this is the devastating bushfires in recent years – but other factors also play a role.
Sydney – The koalas are in danger: According to a new study, the number of Australian marsupials is falling rapidly and has shrunk by 30 percent in the past three years alone.
The Australian Koala Foundation (AKF) announced on Monday that the population has declined in all regions of the country, but especially in the state of New South Wales on the east coast. Here the number has even decreased by 41 percent. In many parts of the country koalas are already extinct, it said.
“They’re stuffed” – Koala numbers plummet by 30 per cent in three years. Read about our alarming new research in @newscomauHQ https://t.co/5cARljFHwI #auspol #savethekoala @sussanley @terrimbutler
— Save the Koala (AKF) (@savethekoala) September 20, 2021
According to the foundation, it is estimated that between 32,000 and 58,000 koalas still live on the fifth continent today. In 2018 it was between 46,000 and 82,000. The devastating bushfires in the summer of 2019/2020 would have contributed significantly to the decimation of the cute eucalyptus eaters, said AKF chairwoman Deborah Tabart. The WWF announced in December that more than 60,000 koalas were likely killed, injured, displaced or traumatized in the fires.
However, this is not the only reason for the decline: Droughts, heat waves and lack of water also threatened the animals, according to Tabart. “I’ve seen some landscapes that look like the moon – with dead and dying trees everywhere.” Above all, clearing land for agriculture, housing and mining is “deadly” for koalas, which are only native to Australia, said the expert. It is important to stop the clearing in koala habitats “in order to protect our beloved national animal from danger,” emphasized Tabart. dpa
