Vanishing Icons: The Battle to Save Australia’s Koalas

What is the image of koalas in your own mind?

Is it a chubby creature that lies leisurely on a eucalyptus tree and chewing its leaves slowly? Or is it a small species that trembles with fear before the butcher’s knife or the flames of the wildfire?

Literally, both of the above images belong to koalas veritably.

It is well-known that koalas are one of Australia’s iconic species. Serving as the emblem of perseverance and fortitude in the culture of Indigenous Australian people, the species’ unique habit of eating eucalyptus leaves, which is a toxic plant, is indicating their distinctive adaptability to the  special environment of Australia.

Aside of being one of Australia’s icon, koalas also bring a considerable amount of income to the country —— a study conducted by the Australian Koala Foundation in 2014 said that Koala-related ecotourism generates roughly A$3.2 billion in yearly income for the economy of  Australia and sustains around 30,000 employment.

However, for most of people, it is an unknown fact that koalas has faced the danger of extinction many times since early 2oth century.

Koalas’ tragedy can be traced back to the 1770s when  European colonisers just set foot on this new continent. The colonists cleared eucalypt trees, which are koalas’ main food source, for different usages like agriculture, pastoral usage and construction. As a result, eucalypt woods near waterways were severely damaged or destroyed.

Across 1915 to 1927, almost 4 million koalas were slaughtered mainly for fur trade in Australia. The species was announced extinct in South Australia 1924, and significant population reductions in other Australian states as a result. Then, koalas were proclaimed an endangered species in every Australian state by 1937.

When it comes to the 21st century where the rapid speed of industrialisation and urbanisation expands the living condition and range of human, koala’s survival conditions have become even more difficult.

Various factors that are newly appeared in the 21st century, include global warming, forest loss due to overcutting, chlamydia and vehicle-related accidents, have put koalas into greater danger of extinction.

Groups of alarming data are proving this fact. Almost 2 million hectares of koala habitat in Queensland and New South Wales were eliminated for agriculture and urban development since 2011. About 5.5 million hectares of terrain, containing koala habitats, were burned in the bushfire that lasted during 2019–2020, which  claimed the lives of around 61,000 koalas. About 145 koalas were slain in a 50 km section of the Peak Downs Highway located in Queensland in 2023 ……

Thus, scientific findings pointed out that the koala’s population had decreased by half across 2000 and 2020, resulting in its listing to be an endangered species on the eastern coast of Australia in February 2022. What is even worse, it is predicted that by 2050, koalas are on the brink of elimination along the eastern coast of Australia.

Could it be that koalas will never escape the miserable fate of extinction? Luckily, the answer of it might be a “no” due to a group of people.

Over the past few decades, and even over the course of a century, there have always been people in Australia who have continuously made their efforts to protect koalas.

In 1927, Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, the first koala sanctuary in Australia, was founded by the environmentalist Claude Reid and his family in Queensland. It was established to provide a safe harbour for those wounded, disabled, and orphaned koalas  from the fur trade.

When it comes to 1973, Jean and Max Starr founded the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital, the first specialised Koala Hospital and registered animal recovery institution in Australia, was established in New South Wales. Since then, the hospital have saved, cured, and freed hundreds of koalas and turn to a premier educative, research, and instructional institution.

Celine Frere, a Swiss evolutionary biologist who works at the University of the Sunshine Coast, has been contributing on protecting koalas since she started her study on koalas in 2009. The focal point of her research is the application of koala faeces to monitor and locate the koalas, and this served as the foundation for her future studies.

In 2016, Linda Sparrow established Bangalow Koalas to protect the habitat of koalas. She has since led a campaign to grow above 377,000 trees in New South Wales to establish biodiversity pathways. Her goal is to reach 500,000 trees by 2025.

Thanks to the selflessly giving of countless environmental activists who regard protecting koalas from extinct as a major matter,  the latest national estimation of the amount of koalas across Australia ranges from 224,000 and 524,000 by May 2025. This data is undoubtedly comforting —— the number of koalas is increasing, and generations of environmental activists in Australia’s efforts have not been in vain.

Nevertheless, in the midst of being moved,  there is still a question for us to face —— as the generation who is born and raised in the 21st century, what methods should we use to protect koalas?

Actually, the answers of it is varied.

Supporting koala-protecting-related projects published by environmental-protecting organisations on social media platforms is a worth-to-try method.

With the rapid development of Internet nowadays, it has been common for people to publish posts and get real-time information from others on social media platforms. Environment-protecting organisations, like WWF and Greenpeace, are also one among us.

By publishing  koala-protecting activities online, environmental-protecting organisations are intending to appeal us to raise our awareness of protecting the cute creature that brings such a joy to Australia. In response, we need to collaborate with these organisations to provide koalas a better future.

Call to increase Indigenous Protected Areas to save koalas.🐨

A Nature Positive future means restoring native wildlife & expanding thriving ecosystems.

Traditional Knowledge plays a crucial role in saving koala habitat & could be the solution.

More: https://t.co/O2qqMOdwOi pic.twitter.com/36h171sQgT

— WWF_Australia (@WWF_Australia) April 7, 2025

We could either donate money to the koalas-protecting programs published by environmental-protecting organisations on social media, or repost an eucalyptus planting activity initiated by them to our family. By doing this, we are protecting koalas by pushing this wish of environmental-protecting organisations’ under spotlight.

Also, for those who keep dogs, it is important to guards them carefully in koala’s habitats

Dogs could easily put koala’s live in danger. Solely in South East Queensland, dog attacks lead to the deaths of approximately 300 koalas annually. A group of data from the state shows that 395 koala died from 2009 to 2014 due to dog attacks, representing 14% of regional koala mortality during the period.

Thus, it is important for dog keepers to put their dogs under leashes near koalas’ habitats, especially during September to February next year when koalas increase their frequency of moving among ground-level trees.

For the university students who are studying ecology, biology and artificial intelligence, it is a good idea to attend the koala-protecting-related projects in universities.

From Chlamydia Vaccine Development of University of the Sunshine Coast to Bushfire Recovery and Research of Australian National University, innumerable researchers have transformed their love for koalas into the motivation to launch these projects. More people’s participation in these projects will provide koalas a safer place to live.

No matter what you have done, as long as you have contributed to the protection of koalas, you are a great hero in their eyes.