Koala conservation groups, programs, and government laws are focused on protecting koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus), an Australian marsupial that lives in gum trees. The Australian Government declared the species endangered by extinction in 2022.
The koala was once listed as Least Concern on the Red List but was changed to Vulnerable in 2016. Australian lawmakers did not accept a 2009 proposal to add the koala to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. In 2012, the Australian Government listed koala populations in Queensland and New South Wales as Vulnerable due to a 40% population drop in Queensland and a 33% drop in New South Wales. A 2017 report by WWF found a 53% decline per generation in Queensland and a 26% decline in New South Wales. Populations in Victoria and South Australia seem to be large, but the Australian Koala Foundation says the exclusion of Victorian populations from protective measures is based on a mistaken belief that the total koala population is 200,000, while they believe it is likely less than 100,000.
History
Koalas were hunted for food by Aboriginal Australian peoples. A common method used to catch them was to tie a loop made of ropey bark to the end of a long, thin pole, forming a noose. This noose was used to trap koalas high in trees, where hunters could not reach them. Once caught, the koalas were killed with a stone hand axe or a hunting stick (waddy). Some tribes believed it was forbidden to skin the animals, while others considered the head important and saved it for burial.
In the early 20th century, European settlers hunted koalas heavily for their thick, soft fur. Fur was used to make rugs, coat linings, muffs, and trimmings for women's clothing. Large numbers of koalas were killed in Queensland in 1915, 1917, and 1919 using guns, poisons, and nooses. More than two million koala pelts are estimated to have left Australia by 1924. Public anger over these killings may have been the first major environmental issue to unite Australians. In a letter to The Courier-Mail, writer Vance Palmer expressed the public’s concern.
Despite efforts to protect native animals, a severe drought from 1926 to 1928 caused poverty, leading to the killing of about 600,000 koalas during a one-month hunting period in August 1927. In 1934, Frederick Lewis, the Chief Inspector of Game in Victoria, noted that koalas had nearly disappeared in that state, with only 500 to 1,000 remaining.
The first successful conservation efforts began with the creation of Brisbane’s Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and Sydney’s Koala Park Sanctuary in the 1920s and 1930s. The owner of Koala Park Sanctuary, Noel Burnet, was the first person to successfully breed koalas and became a leading expert on the species. In 1934, David Fleay, curator of Australian mammals at the Melbourne Zoo, built the first Australian faunal enclosure at a zoo, which included koalas. This allowed him to study their diet in captivity. Fleay later continued his conservation work at Healesville Sanctuary and the David Fleay Wildlife Park.
Modern threats
One of the biggest threats to koalas is habitat destruction and fragmentation. In coastal areas, urban growth is the main cause. In rural areas, habitat is cleared for farming. Native forest trees are also cut down to make wood products. In 2000, Australia was fifth in the world for deforestation, clearing 564,800 hectares (1,396,000 acres). Koala populations have decreased by more than 50% since Europeans arrived, mainly because of habitat fragmentation in Queensland. Because koalas are "vulnerable" in Queensland and New South Wales, developers in these areas must consider how their projects affect koalas. Koalas also live in many protected areas.
Although urban areas can be dangerous, koalas can live there if there are enough trees. In cities, koalas face dangers like car accidents and attacks by dogs. These two causes are responsible for two-thirds of koala deaths. To help ko
Rescue and rehabilitation
Injured koalas are often taken to wildlife hospitals and rehabilitation centers. A study looking back over 30 years at a koala rehabilitation center in New South Wales found that trauma, such as injuries from car accidents or dog attacks, was the most common reason koalas were brought in. Chlamydia infection symptoms were the second most common cause.
People who care for wildlife must have special permits to treat injured animals. However, they are required to release the animals back into the wild once they are healthy or, in the case of baby koalas, when they are old enough. Koalas cannot be legally kept as pets in Australia or any other place. A little-known danger for koalas is water entering their lungs (called aspiration pneumonia), which can occur when they drink from a bottle. This has been seen in many videos online where people give water bottles to thirsty koalas. To safely provide water, it should be placed in a bowl, cup, helmet, or hat so the koala can drink by lapping up the water it needs.
Introductions
Since 1870, koalas have been brought to many coastal and offshore islands, including Phillip Island in Victoria and Kangaroo Island in South Australia. Their numbers have grown a lot, and since the islands are not large enough to support so many koalas, the trees they eat are being damaged by overbrowsing.
Since the 1990s, government groups have tried to control koala numbers by culling, but public and international concerns led to the use of translocation and sterilisation instead.
In the 1920s, a person named Lewis started a program to move koalas from areas where their habitat was broken up or reduced to new regions. The goal was to eventually return them to their original areas.
In 1929, the koala population on Phillip Island dropped sharply because the manna gums they relied on died. This was officially blamed on insect pests and fire. In 1930–31, 165 surviving koalas were moved to French Island and Quail Island.
The koalas on Quail Island did well until 1943, when some began dying from starvation. After their numbers grew and they overbrowsed the trees, about 1,300 koalas were released to mainland areas in 1944.
The koalas on French Island also thrived until 1954, when the trees they depended on started dying. At that time, the 700 koalas were moved to mainland areas near Camperdown and Ararat.
Moving koalas became a common practice. Peter Menkhorst, a Victorian State manager, estimated that from 1923 to 2006, about 24,000 koalas were relocated to more than 250 sites across Victoria.
Kangaroo Island, often called "K.I.," is one of Australia’s largest islands, located about 20 km off the coast of South Australia. It had no history of koalas living there. A type of manna gum, a favorite food of koalas, grows on the island.
Flinders Chase National Park, on the western part of Kangaroo Island, was created in the early 20th century to provide a safe habitat for Australian mammals and birds threatened by foxes and rabbits. The island is free of these animals. In 1923, six koalas, then called "native bears," were donated by Wilson’s Promontory National Park and moved to Kangaroo Island by members of the Fauna and Flora Board. Another six pairs, including young koalas, were released in 1925. The population grew steadily, with researchers finding koalas on different types of eucalyptus trees by 1934 and 1943. By 1949, scientists observed 18 adult koalas in a short area of the island.
By the 1990s, the koala population had grown so much that they were eating eucalyptus leaves faster than the trees could regrow. Scientists realized human action was needed to prevent tree deaths and harm to koalas. In 1996, David Wotton, a Liberal conservation minister, formed a panel led by Hugh Possingham to study the issue. The panel recommended humane culling, such as shooting, to reduce numbers. However, the government avoided this due to concerns about negative publicity affecting tourism, which was vital to South Australia and Kangaroo Island’s economies. Instead, they chose a program of trapping and sterilising female koalas through tubal ligation under general anaesthetic. These koalas were then released on the mainland. This process was costly and stressful for the animals, but officials said it was kinder than killing. By 2001, 3,400 koalas had been sterilised, and another 1,000 had been relocated. However, these efforts did not keep up with the population’s natural growth of about 27,000 individuals. Relocating each koala cost A$2,400, and studies showed many moved koalas wandered far from their release sites. Most gained weight, but more than one-third died within the first year after relocation.
Over-population
As of early 2026, koala populations in parts of South Australia and Victoria are very high. In the Mount Lofty Ranges near Adelaide, South Australia, koala numbers have grown quickly. This area makes up about 10% of the national koala population and is expected to increase by 17% to 25% over the next 25 years. A study published in January 2026 warns that if numbers continue to grow, koalas may not have enough food. The study also suggests ways to manage the population. Before the 2020 Kangaroo Island bushfires, there were about 48,000 koalas on Kangaroo Island. By 2026, their numbers are estimated to be between 5,000 and 10,000. Koalas are not originally from South Australia. They were moved to the Mount Lofty Ranges and Kangaroo Island from French Island in Victoria around 1920. In Victoria, koalas are eating too much vegetation in Cape Otway and French Island.
Great Koala National Park
In 2021, the NSW Greens proposed a law to create a Great Koala National Park in New South Wales. In 2023, the Labor Party supported the park's creation during the state election. The government and the Forestry Corporation of NSW, a logging company, have faced criticism for continuing to cut trees in the area planned for the koala sanctuary.