Mike Drinkwater, Curator at WILD LIFE Sydney, met with Georgie
Gardner from the Today Show this morning to talk about how we can
all aid the koala's plight.
Mike talked about how the wild population of koalas are in
decline nationally, with less than 80,000 currently living in the
wild and worst case scenario estimates suggesting maybe as few as
43,000. Given prime koala habitat is in the most populated areas of
Australia, Koalas have lost a huge proportion of their natural
habitat and are being driven into smaller and smaller areas.
Mike commented, "The primary factors contributing to the decline
are road kills, dog attacks, bush fires and greater prevalence of
disease due to decreased range of their habitat."
WILD LIFE Sydney, together with Australian Wildlife Conservancy
(AWC), recently installed a money spinner in the attraction, which
has raised close to $7,000 in public donations within the past
eight months. 90% of AWC's total expenditure is invested in
conservation and this contribution will make a difference to the
survival of threatened species like the Koala at places like AWC's
Curramore and Mt Zero - Taravale wildlife sanctuaries in
Queensland.
What can you do to help?
- Be a responsible pet owner - know where your dogs and
cats are at all times and keep them under control
- Take care on the roads, particularly in known koala
areas where you see koala road signs
- Get involved with 'Plant a Tree' days
- You could approach your local minister and find out what
they are doing to help protect koalas
- Donate to key koala and wildlife conservation funds such
as AKF and AWC
All of these activities, along with the generous support from
the public and government can work towards making sure Australia's
koala population does not become extinct.