After the logging and clear felling of Bellingen's forests, koalas find themselves wandering around homeless. Desperate to find suitable (private) land that has not been cleared, they have to cross an array of roads with speeding trucks and cars. Navigating this terrain they find that most '5 acre kingdoms' are sprouting monocultures of lawns and exotic weeds. The majority of local landowners keep introduced canines that keep their places wildlife free. Additionally, these pet owners walk their dogs unleashed through the 'bush' to be emptied. Delighted to spot a koala they take snapshots of the horrified marsupials clinging to a tree by the roadside. They are then tagged and spread around on proprietary platforms.
Data from the South-East Queensland Wildlife Hospital Network could be an indication about the main mechanisms that are making koalas in 'the wild' extinct. Although there is a sparsity of data for the Bellingen/Gleniffer area, one could assume similar trends for this area. Industrial logging of 'The Great Koala park' is a rapid disruption to all forest biodiversity. Unrestrained sprawling human settlements with their associated roads/cars and dogs are also making Australian species extinct.
"After European colonization in 1788, more species have become extinct in Australia than in any other country on Earth (Australian Government Department of Agriculture Water and the Environment, 2022)."
VEHICLES
The wildlife around Gleniffer Rd. and Roses Rd. have experienced a 'massacre' after the 'upgrades' (for logging machinery and tourist access). Australian wildlife are smeared along the asphalt on a daily basis. The externality of this mobility form is called 'roadkill'.
When koalas are hit by motor vehicles they are predisposed to head trauma and fractures to the skull and jaw. "Koalas who had been attacked by a dog, fallen from a tree, and/or been hit by a motor vehicle were more likely to be euthanized or found deceased than released."
DOGS
For koalas, the main complications of a dog bite injury often include infection, torso fractures and zoonotic organisms carried by dogs. "Despite almost 50% of households in Australia having a pet dog, there is limited research on the human management of pet dog and wild koala interactions." The system is also lacking management strategies to prevent dog attacks on koalas.
This area has no wildlife hospital nearby and no data/ studies have been conducted on the impacts of sprawl ( logging, settlements, roads, cars and dogs).
In 2020, the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into Koalas found that koalas will become extinct before 2050 with the present regime of 'business as usual'. First the thylacine, then the koala, then...
Charalambous, R., Descovich, K. A., & Narayan, E. J. (2024). Identifying Trends in Admission and Release of Wild Koalas in Veterinary Clinics Throughout Queensland, Australia. Society & Animals (published online ahead of print 2024). https://doi.org/10.1163/15685306-bja10220
Road and dog density contribute to the extinction of koalas
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-40827-w
Dissanayake, R.B., Stevenson, M., Astudillo, V.G. et al. Anthropogenic and environmental factors associated with koala deaths due to dog attacks and vehicle collisions in South-East Queensland, Australia, 2009–2013. Sci Rep 13, 14275 (2023).
