Posted
Tandora cattle station, on the banks of Queensland's
Mary River, was once home to an extensive koala population — but the
last koala there was shot about a century ago.
Key points:
- Researchers are identifying areas where koalas historically existed
- Koalas have been forced to leave their habitat due to urbanisation
- Researchers hope to roll out the program around the rest of the country
Grazier Lindsay "Butch" Titmarsh's father purchased the Maryborough property on December 16, 1907.
"My father, he claimed that there were koalas everywhere … then, all of a sudden, there were no koalas," Mr Titmarsh said.
Decades later, Mr Titmarsh is determined to restore the koala population on his family's property, and has "lent" the cattle station to a group of University of Queensland (UQ) researchers.
Since 2014, scientists have been conducting trials on the station to study whether re-homing the native animals where they historically thrived could help conserve the species.
UQ researcher Dr Sean FitzGibbon said so far, the project was proving to be a success.
"The project's gone as good as we could have hoped, really," he said of relocating the animals left homeless by urban development.
"At least eight young have been born in those few years. We've got koalas that are healthy [and] females that have produced multiple young.
"They seem to have adapted really well to this environment."
The pressures of urbanisation have forced koalas out of their natural habitat, and led to an increase in displaced animals.
Previous koala translocation programs have been controversial, with half of the animals dying after relocation.
Dr FitzGibbon said re-homing the animals at random was to blame.
"What's happening now with ongoing urban development is that koalas are being rescued from palm trees in suburbia or found up light poles or even house frames in new estates," he said."It just doesn't make sense to be putting koalas back into those environments where they're going to be at risk of cars and dogs and the stress that can then possibly lead to an inflammation or disease.
"You can't just take them from A and put them to B and hope that everything's going to be okay."
'We're hoping to inform new policy'
Over 100 years ago, hunters were one of koalas' biggest threats; today, the animals are facing different dangers.Wildlife veterinarian Dr Amber Gillett said the prevalence of chlamydia in koalas was rising, and could lead to a major drop in numbers.
"[A hundred years ago] a lot of koalas were shot for their pelts. That led to a huge decline in koala populations," she said.
"The pressures that come with urban growth and disease have had a huge impact on the remaining populations.
"Once they've developed disease, that's the critical thing for koalas, because that can lead to severe bladder infections, bad conjunctivitis, and can eventually lead to the death of koalas and at the very least, potentially infertility.
"It can have a huge impact on koala populations around our country."
But Dr FitzGibbon said identifying areas where koalas used to exist could help to restore their numbers.
"There are a lot of areas of Queensland that could support koalas; there's a lot of regrowth forest in particular, but koalas aren't there," he said.
"They probably used to be but they've become locally extinct.
"It's something the State Government is aware of, and they're looking to change the policy. We're hoping that this study will help inform any new policy."Until then, Mr Titmarsh is diligently doing his part to help conserve the koalas by regularly checking on them and keeping the wild dog numbers under control.
"It's just special to have these koalas back on the homeland of Tandora where they've been for centuries before that," he said.
"Everyone's got one named after them, so mine will probably be the most troublesome one to catch."
No comments:
Post a Comment