The Koala Could Go Extinct By 2050 If Action Is Not Taken Soon

The koala is perilously close to extinction and could disappear from parts of Australia as early as 2050, Newsweek reports.

A large swathe of Australian Koalas are in the midst of a devastating chlamydia epidemic.

As the CDC reports, Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted disease that affects more than just humans. Chlamydia appears in many mammals, birds, and reptiles.

The disease spreads quickly, and antibiotics used to treat it can destroy the delicate gut flora koalas need to consume their staple diet of eucalyptus leaves, leading some to starve to death even after being cured, CNN maintains.

Estimates suggest that about half of all koalas on the continent are infected, and in closed populations, that figure could be as high as 80 percent.

According to Smithsonian Magazine, given its rate of spread, and considering how painful and debilitating the condition is for koalas, some conservationists are calling for a massive cull in order to get the disease under control as researchers feverishly work on a vaccine.

Those koalas that survive the chlamydia epidemic still face threats from habitat destruction.

The biggest threat to koalas is habitat loss, WWF reports. Much of the koala’s habitat in Queensland overlaps with areas where significant clearing has occurred, and continues to occur, for urban, industrial and rural development. Koalas in New South Wales are losing their homes and their lives to excessive tree-clearing.

A report from the State of Queensland points out that as koala habitats become smaller and more fragmented, koalas are more likely to move through developed areas. In developed areas, koalas have to cross roads and move through properties where they may be attacked by dogs or drown in backyard swimming pools.

In South East Queensland, the human population is increasing by more than 1000 people every week. This rapid population growth and increased need for houses is placing considerable pressure on the limited remaining koala habitat.

A NSW Parliamentary Inquiry previously recommended that the NSW Government:

• Facilitate more koala habitat on private land being protected
• Investigate the establishing the Great Koala National Park
• Rule out opening up old growth forests in the state forest reserve for logging
• Urgently investigate the utilization of core koala habitat on private land and in State forests to replenish koala habitat lost in the bushfires
• Ensure that the combination of underpasses, overpasses and exclusion fencing along roads is incorporated into both the retrofitting of existing infrastructure and new development in areas of known koala habitat

Help us save the koala from extinction. Click below and ask the New South Wales Government of Australia to follow these recommendations.