Great Eastern Ranges

Koala

Nature & People

Physical Description

The Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) is a brown to grey, medium-sized, bear-like marsupial with small, round fluffy ears, engaging forward-facing eyes, and a large, black 'button nose'. It is one of Australia’s best-known natural icons.

Where is it Found?

The Koala is found in fragmented populations throughout mainland eastern Australia, living in trees in forests and woodlands growing on more fertile soils.

Ecology

The Koala feeds principally on the leaves of a small number of Eucalyptus species. It spends most of its time sleeping or feeding, often high in the treetops, or seeking shelter from hot weather in low bushes. Each Koala needs a home range of many hectares. Some Koalas are nomadic, roaming many kilometres to select food and shelter trees, but this activity can expose them to dangers if crossing open ground.

Threats

The Koala is listed as Vulnerable under the New South Wales Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995. Habitat loss and fragmentation – as farms and forestry occupy more fertile lands, and human populations grow in regional areas – are their main threats. Dogs, bushfires and road traffic all impinge on Koala populations, and chlamydia can negatively affect their eyes and reproductive tract.

Climate change is causing Eucalypt leaves to be less palatable as Carbon dioxide levels rise, and extreme weather conditions such as long successions of hot days severely test Koalas, forcing them to move more often to find better trees, thus exposing them to ground-based threats.

Conservation Measures

Koalas are managed under the NSW Recovery Plan for the Koala and the Draft National Koala Conservation and Management Strategy 2009–2014. Forestry and developments approved by councils operate under legal requirements to protect Koala habitats. Large contiguous reserves are essential, so Koalas can disperse from source populations and colonise other areas.

Did You Know?

It is a myth Koalas get 'high' from the oils in Eucalyptus leaves; rather, their diet provides so little energy that they conserve it by sleeping up to 20 hours a day. Due to their poor diet each Koala relies on a large area of suitable trees.