Chlamydia is devastating for koalas, but the vaccine to prevent infection requires a booster shot. Recapturing the animals for their booster shot is costly and stresses them, but there’s a solution.
Offsets are meant to restore land elsewhere to make up for lost habitat. Developers can make payments to the state to cover the costs of this work, but a new study finds there’s usually a shortfall.
It can be hard and costly to collect data on the threats to species at specific locations. Wildlife emergency response services have long-running records for hundreds of species that suffered harm.
Shocking scenes of scorched koalas in the 2019-20 bushfires sparked research into cultural burns for wildlife. A two-year study on the world’s second-largest sand island suggests it’s the way to go.
Overall winner of the 2018 competition, a Growling Grass Frog (Litoria raniformis) by EnviroDNA @enviro_DNA.
@enviro_DNA
Our research looked at data from the government’s annual baking competition. Upon close analysis, we find a dangerous lack of diversity and biases towards cute, cuddly mammals.
Koalas are often regarded as cute but dumb: slow, sleepy and incapable of change. But they have been known to approach humans for help. And maybe they have been set free by their remarkable diet.
It’s only fair to expect results from vast sums of public money spent on koala conservation. But continued land clearing badly undermines the investment.
A detailed map of the koala genome is vital to understanding their susceptibility to disease, their genetic diversity, and how they may respond to new environmental pressures.
The federal government has ordered a national koala audit, but the animals are notoriously difficult to detect. But accurately counting koalas is critical to saving them.
The Brandy Hill Quarry expansion was approved under the weak environment laws of NSW. Now, the federal government must decide if it will proceed. The fate of many koalas is in Sussan Ley’s hands.
It’s in everyone’s interests to ensure our environment stays healthy – including farmers. What did the Nats think they’d gain from this destructive game of brinkmanship?
Koalas are notoriously difficult to detect. Traditional methods are costly and labour intensive. So we found a more efficient way to locate koalas in eastern NSW, using drones.
Researchers expected to find koalas killed by the fires. But they were heartbroken to find those that died afterwards from starvation, thirst or injury.
Birds are disoriented by smoke and often cannot escape a fire.
James Ross/AAP