Koala Numbers In Free Fall - New Estimate Says Maybe 43,000 Remain In Australian Bush - SMH

[hatrack]

KOALAS are rapidly vanishing from the Australian bush,and there may be as few as 43,000 left on the mainland, according to the biggest national survey of their populations attempted.

The Australian Koala Foundation said its research showed the furry icons were suffering from urban development and climate change, and that the Federal Government should list the species as vulnerable. The group, which used data from more than 1000 forest surveys, said the mainland population had fallen to between 43,000 and 80,000. The number of wild koalas in NSW, where they are already listed as vulnerable, could have dropped to as few as 8000, the group said.

The figures are controversial because they point to a steep decline since the previous national estimate in 2003, which used similar methodology to suggest a population of 100,000. Some researchers think numbers are significantly higher, though most agree they are in decline. The marsupial's fate will be put before 20 of the world's leading koala experts at a workshop in Canberra today - the start of a process in which the species could be listed as vulnerable by the end of next year.

Upgrading the conservation status could have big implications for government assessments of coastal developments and land clearing. An attempt in 2006 to have the species listed as vulnerable failed when the federal government's threatened species steering committee decided it did not meet the criteria.

But the foundation said its research confirmed years of anecdotal reports of dwindling populations along the east coast. ''I think it will be very hard for anyone to walk away from this data. We have a very high level of confidence that it accurately shows a drastic decline,'' said the foundation's chief executive, Deborah Tabart.

EDIT

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/koala-numbers-in-free-fall-20091109-i5g2.html

[depakid]

1. Quite a few are hit by cars every year