Report finds 71 percent decline in koala numbers

Petition to: Marcy Cláudio Lopes, Minister of Justice and Human Rights

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  The first comprehensive scientific study of the impact of the Black Summer bushfires on the state’s koala population has found more than 70 per cent of koalas were killed in the six study areas, writes The Sydney Morning Herald’s Nick O’Malley.

At one location, the Kiwarrak area south of Taree, there was no evidence of any living koalas, according to the ecological consultancy Biolink, which surveyed 123 sites at six fire grounds for a study on behalf of the World Wildlife Foundation.

The decline in koala population varied from 34 percent in an area of Lake Innes Nature Reserve near Port Macquarie, to a likely 87 percent on Hillville Road at Khappinghat Nature Reserve.

“This is the first scientific study to enter charred forest and quantify the impact of the bushfire crisis on koalas,” said WWF-Australia chief executive Dermot O’Gorman.

“A 71 per cent decline is massive, nearly three quarters of koalas in these locations were lost. That’s why it’s so important that national environment laws are strengthened to protect koalas and all threatened species.”