Wild Koala Day is on May 3rd, Koala Clancy's birthday. We celebrate all wild koalas.
Koalas are an endangered species and in the wild they face challenges everyday just to survive. Protected by the Government in 1937 after their populations were decimated due to the fur trade, failure of the government to protect their trees has resulted in a slower path to extinction, as land clearing on farms and development is encroaching on their habitat.
Koalas usually produce a single joey, and during an expected lifetime of 12 years a koala doe will have 5 or 6 joeys. 35 days after conception a joey, commonly known as a pinky, will emerge from the birth canal and make its way to its mother's pouch, attaching itself to one her two teats. The joey will remain feeding on the teat until it is about 22 weeks old, when it will begin his or her emergence from the pouch. By 42 days old the joey remains outside of the pouch, after that the joey will begin to explore its world, staying close to his or her mother until it is 12 months old.
After the joey leaves its mum, it will remain in the family range and live its life out in that range.
The degradation of their homes due to climate change is catastrophic with a decline of an estimated 80% in some areas. Extended droughts degrade both the nutritional and moisture quality of the leaves without an alternate source of water available koalas will die of dehydration.
Human expansion in Australia has caused several problems for wild koalas, not only are humans expanding into the koalas ranges but they bring with them two of the most deadly opponents of koalas, cars and dogs. Over 4000 are killed by them each year and more are injured. Some of the people involved in this group are wildlife rescuers, they are the people on call all day, everyday to rescue the koalas that survive these incidents and make the decision to euthanase the koalas or to try and rehabilitate them and return them to their family ranges.
May 3rd is Wild Koala Day, working to raise awareness of the plight of the wild koala.
As wild koalas are often to fluffy story at the end of the news broadcast few people are aware that they are
dangerously close to extinction.
