Koala Woman Says

Although Healesville Sanctuary is famous for koalas, if we are correct with these numbers then where have the koalas gone given the amount of habitat in this electorate? The answer is that the best habitats have been cleared for housing, with any remaining good habitat fragmented by busy roads. There are probably a few Koalas between Monbulk and Mount Dandenong, with 6 records between 2010-2019. There have been no reported sightings for 15 years in the rugged eastern 2/3rds of the electorate, an area prone to severe bushfire.

There are half a dozen recent records in the Olinda forest north of Monbulk. Koalas were translocated here in the 1970s so seem to be surviving, just. There were a few in Ferntree Gully, but they disappeared 20 years ago. There were a few records north and west of Yarra Glen, but these Koalas were mostly wiped out by the Kinglake fires in 2009 and so there have been no records for 5 years. Healesville Sanctuary is famous for its Koalas, but you won’t find any wild Koalas in the surrounding bush. The picture looks a bit better in the hills south of Warburton, with 60 records in the last 10 years. Look how much habitat is left and nothing, nothing in place to protect it.

Will he Act or Axe?