Scientific name:Phascolarctos cinereus Conservation status in NSW: Vulnerable
Description
The Koala is an arboreal marsupial with fur ranging from grey to brown above, and is white below. It has large furry ears, a prominent black nose and no tail. It spends most of its time in trees and has long, sharp claws, adapted for climbing. Adult males weigh 6 - 12 kg and adult females weigh 5 - 8 kg. During breeding, males advertise with loud snarling coughs and bellows.
Location and habitat
Distribution The Koala has a fragmented distribution throughout eastern Australia from north-east Queensland to the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. In NSW it mainly occurs on the central and north coasts with some populations in the western region. It was historically abundant on the south coast of NSW, but now occurs in sparse and possibly disjunct populations. Koalas are also known from several sites on the southern tablelands.
Habitat and ecology
Inhabit eucalypt woodlands and forests.
Feed on the foliage of more than 70 eucalypt species and 30 non-eucalypt species, but in any one area will select preferred browse species.
Inactive for most of the day, feeding and moving mostly at night.
Spend most of their time in trees, but will descend and traverse open ground to move between trees.
Home range size varies with quality of habitat, ranging from less than two ha to several hundred hectares in size.
Generally solitary, but have complex social hierarchies based on a dominant male with a territory overlapping several females and sub-ordinate males on the periphery.
Females breed at two years of age and produce one young per year.
Regional information This species is found in the following catchment management authority regions. Click on a region name to see more details about the distribution, vegetation types and habitat preference of the species in that region.
Intense fires that scorch or kill the tree canopy.
Road-kills.
Recovery strategies
Priority actions are the specific, practical things that must be done to recover a threatened species, population or ecological community. The Department of Environment and Conservation has identified 53 priority actions to help recover the Koala in New South Wales.
What needs to be done to recover this species?
Undertake feral predator control.
Apply low intensity, mosaic pattern fuel reduction burns in or adjacent to Koala habitat.
Retain suitable habitat, especially areas dominated by preferred feed-tree species.
Identify road-kill blackspots and erect warning signs, reduce speed limits or provide safe crossing points to reduce Koala fatalities.
Protect populations close to urban areas from attacks by domestic dogs.
Revegetate with suitable feed tree species and develop habitat corridors between populations.
References
Martin R.W. and Handasyde K.A. (1995). Koala (pp. 196-8) in Strahan, R.(ed.), The Australian Museum Complete Book of Australian Mammals. Angus & Robertson, Sydney.
Martin, R. & Handasyde, K. 1999. The Koala: natural history, conservation and management. University of New South Wales Press Ltd, Sydney.
Menkhorst P.W. (1995). Koala (pp.85-8) in The Mammals of Victoria -
Distribution, Ecology and Conservation. Oxford University Press,
Australia.
Menkhorst, P. and Knight, F. (2001). A Field Guide to the Mammals of Australia. Oxford Uni Press, Melbourne.
NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (2003) Draft Recovery Plan for the Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus). NSW NPWS, Sydney.
Reed, P.C., Lunney, D. and Walker, P. 1990. A 1986-1987 survey of the koala Phascolarctos cinereus (Goldfuss) in New South Wales and an ecological interpretation of its distribution. In Biology of the Koala. Lee, A.K., Handasyde, K.A. and Sanson, G.D.
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