Australia To Save Declining Koala Populations

In the last few decades, koala populations in Australia have been in danger, due to destroyed habits, drastic climate change and dog attacks.

The state of New South Wales set aside $45 million AUD, or $34 million USD, to save the koalas.

“The money will be used to establish forest reserves and build a hospital to care for the sick and injured animals,” according to BBC, along with, “adjustments to roadkill hotspots as many koalas are killed by cars.”

Around 25,000 hectares, or 62,000 acres, of state forest will be made into a koala reserve, in hopes that the remaining koalas will freely repopulate their species.

In New South Wales, the koala population has dropped around 26% in the last twenty years.

The Australian Koala Foundation believes there to be only 43,000 koalas left in the wild, while there was once over ten million in the eighteenth century, prior to European settlement.

“It would be such a shame if this nationally iconic marsupial did not have its future secured,” NSW Premier Gladys Berejikilian told BBC.