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Australia’s iconic koalas are in trouble.  Researchers are warning that koalas are alarmingly declining due to disease aggravated by stress!

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As more people move into areas koalas need for food, water and shelter, fewer eucalyptus trees are available for the koala.  The stress of urban habitat loss and elimination of open space, grass and unfenced areas, is causing chlamydiosis, a latent disease affecting up to 90 percent of the koala population.  The chlamydiosis virus manifests during times of stress, leading to infections that can cause blindness, pneumonia, urinary tract infections, infertility and death.

Sam

Sam the Koala captured the world’s heart when she was filmed drinking from a firefighter’s water bottle in February during the 2009 Australian Bushfires.  In August, Sam again caught the world’s attention when she was euthanized during surgery to treat the disease.

 

Australian Koala

Commonly referred to as koala bears, Phascolarctos cinereus, are actually marsupials, not bears.  They have five digits on their front paws and often sleep for up to 20 hours each day.  Young koalas, or joeys, are born blind, without fur and stay in its mother’s pouch for about six or seven months.  Mature koalas can weigh from 10 to 35 pounds.

Threats

Down from millions in the 1700s, the Australian Koala Foundation (AKF) estimates there are less than 100,000 koalas left in Australia today.   The AKF estimates 4,000 koalas are killed annually by dog attacks and vehicle strikes, but habitat loss is the greatest issue facing koalas today.   Dr. Frank Carrick, who heads the University of Queensland Koala Study Program and is regarded as a key authority on koalas, said some populations have already gone extinct due to chlamydial disease. Koalas are listed as Threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

Koala photo David Iliff via CC

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