Koalas, “functionally extinct”?

The koala is one of the most iconic Australian marsupials. The gray furballs spend nearly all their time in the trees, surviving on a diet of toxic eucalyptus leaves and a healthy routine of prolonged naps. Deforestation, bushfires and record-breaking drought in Australia has caused utter destruction, killing over 1,000 of them and destroying 80% of the Koalas habitat, leaving them “functionally extinct.”Functional extinction is when a population becomes so limited that they no longer play a significant role in their ecosystem and the population becomes no longer viable. The limited number of koalas makes the long-term viability of the species unlikely and highly susceptible to disease.

Deforestation and bushfires destroy the main nutrient source of koalas, the eucalyptus tree. An adult koala can eat up to 2 pounds of eucalyptus leaves per day. It will take months for the eucalyptus plants to grow back after a fire, leaving no suitable food source for koalas and starvation may become a likely scenario for many that are left.

Many are prompting the Australian government to enact the Koala Protection Act which was written in 2016 but never passed into law. The Koala Protection Act was molded after the Bald Eagle Protection Act in the U.S and would work to protect habitats and trees vital to koalas as well as protect koalas from hunting. If you’d like to support the rehabilitation of koalas the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital set up a Go Fund Me page seeking donations to help the hospital treat injured koalas. Part of their effort is to install drinking stations for koalas in areas devastated by the fires. The funds will also be used for a “Koala Ark” as a refuge for burned koalas to live in a healthy habitat during rehabilitation.