The recent news has put the spotlight on Australia’s Koala population, as the country officially declared this creature to be ‘endangered’. The classification comes after a couple of decades that saw the continuous decline of their population, coupled with threats and hazards like bushfires, habitat destruction, and disease. This article will delve into why this classification was necessary, its significance, and key details about Koalas.
Classification as Endangered: An Overview
For over two decades, the Koala population of Australia has been heading towards extinction. Specifically in NSW (New South Wales), there has been a disturbing decline in the number of Koalas by between 33% and 61% since 2001. Despite numerous appeals from animal rights organizations and conservationists, the government has drawn criticism for not doing enough to safeguard this species.
Koalas were only classified as “vulnerable” in 2012. The catastrophic bushfires of 2019, remembered as the ‘Black Summer’, affected an estimated 60,000 koalas, with large tracts of their habitat being burnt and rendered uninhabitable. Another significant threat is the spread of chlamydia, a sexually transmitted disease, which causes blindness and cysts in the koalas’ reproductive tracts.
Significance of The Endangered Status
With the new classification of koalas as ‘endangered’, it is expected that they and their forest homes will get higher protection under Australia’s national environmental law. This status means increased measures towards safeguarding their habitats, providing healthcare, and mitigating threats like diseases and bushfires.
About Koalas: Key Facts
Belonging to the species Phascolarctos cinereus, the Koala is an arboreal marsupial, meaning they live in trees. A marsupial is born in a very premature state, with underdeveloped hind limbs and devoid of hair. Approximately two-thirds of the global marsupial population call Australia home, while the remaining are mainly found in South America.
Koalas share various characteristics with their closest living relatives, wombats. The most notable of these is a pouch that faces backward. The young koala, instead of being nourished by a placenta, relies on the mother’s milk for growth and development.
Habitat and Behavioral Traits
The preferred habitat for Koalas is open eucalypt woodlands, which provide almost all their diet needs through the leaves. Koalas are considered to be asocial creatures, with emotional bonding mostly seen only between mothers and their offspring. The low nutrient content in the Eucalyptus leaves they consume results in them sleeping up to 18 hours each day.
Threats and IUCN status
Koalas face numerous threats that contribute to their vulnerable status declared by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). These threats include habitat destruction, climate change, and severe weather conditions such as droughts and extreme temperatures. The recent classification as ‘endangered’ underscores the urgency of taking actions to protect this iconic creature and its habitat.