Koalas were officially listed as endangered in Australia, two years after wildfires killed thousands of animals.

Environment Minister Sussan Ley is to announce the downgrade of the list on Friday following a recommendation by the Science Panel on Threatened Species.

Listing in New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory.

Since 2001, koala populations in NSW have fell 33 per cent to 61 per cent.

At least 6.400 of the animals died in the NSW-NSW bushfires in 2019-20 as rescuers worked frantically to save them and treat their injuries.

Last year, an investigation in NSW concluded koalas would become extinct there by 2050 unless urgent action is taken to stop them.

Australia has lost around 30% of its koalas in the past three years, according to the Australian Koala Foundation last year. According to estimates, the number of koalas has fallen from about 80.000 in 2018 to fewer than 58.000, with the worst decline occurring in New South Wales, where the numbers have fallen 41% in the past year.

It found koala populations in Queensland had been cut by half since 2001 due to drought, fires and deforestation.



Koala

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The koala or, inaccurately, koala bear , is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. (wikipedia)


Australian Koala Foundation

The Australian Koala Foundation is registered Australian charity created in 1986, dedicated to the effective management and conservation of the koala and its habitat. It is the principal non-profit, (wikipedia)