AKF claims koalas are on brink of extinction; slams Canberra for overestimating population

The largest Australian koala conservationists on Monday slammed the government for significantly overestimating the Koala population in the island continent. The exotic marsupials are on the brink of extinction, Xinhua News Agency quoted the head of Australian Koala Foundation (AKF) Deborah Tabart as saying to Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). According to Tabart, approximately 80,000 animals are left in the forests.

Iconic Australian koalas have been tagged as "critically endangered" species since the "Black Summer" bushfire in 2019-2020 by conservationists. The devasting wildfire decimated the exotic animals due to the loss of habitat and food supplies. About 60,000 koala bears were affected by the wildfires that burnt down much of the Australian vegetation last year, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said in a statement.

Koalas on brink of extinction

Adding to WWF's statement, Koala Researcher based in Australia, Bill Ellis told ABC that "it's not just bushfires, there's also drought and habitat clearing." Furthermore, the Koalas are on the brink of extinction for the second time due to the fur trade. He was also profoundly alarmed by the fact that this will be the second time in hundred years that the animals are on the edge of extinction.

As per official data from the University of Queensland, there were 3,30,000 iconic Australian Koalas in 2016. The count has also diminished due to the increased coal mining in Koala habitats, Australia Forest and Climate Allowances (AFCA) stated. Following the reports of the vulnerable Koala population, AKF Chairperson Deborah urged Canberra to formulate and implement the Koala Protection Act. However, the government has failed to take measures regarding the cause.

"The Government has everything it needs to upgrade anything, but what is not happening is the protection of the habitat," Deborah said in a statement.

In 2006, the Australian Government dubbed the Koalas as "vulnerable species." It was later upgraded to "endangered." Currently, the AFK is instrumental in pushing the exotic animals to the "critically endangered" column in order to initiate the Koala Protection Act. In a letter to Sussan Ley, Minister of Environment in Australia, Tabart on August 21 urged, "to state that an upgrade of the listing of the Koala in these States and the ACT is not sufficient to protect the Koala Australia-wide." In her blog, she highlighted that Koala Protection Act will not be passed until Koalas are dubbed "critically endangered" in Victoria and New South Wales (NSW). She also slammed the government for not doing more than "selectively upgrading the status" of the marsupials in the continent.

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