Australia will invest $ 35 million over the next four years to protect its koalas. Premier Scott Morrison announced today. “Koalas are one of Australia’s most loved and recognized icons, both here and around the world and we want to commit to protecting them for generations to come,” he said, explaining that the special fund will be used to “restore the habitat. knowledge and strengthening research on koala health ”.
Since 2018, around 30% of Australia’s koalas have been exterminated by bushfires, drought and logging, according to the Australian Koala Foundation. Notably, Australia’s koala population suffered severe losses during the catastrophic fires of 2019, which destroyed more than 12 million acres of land in New South Wales alone.
In addition, Australian koalas have recently been threatened by the spread of chlamydia, a sexually transmitted disease that can cause blindness and cysts in the animal with consequences ranging from infertility to death. The koala is defined as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which catalogs endangered species. The IUCN claims there are between 100,000 and half a million koalas in the wild, but for the Australian Koala Foundation it claims there are around 58,000.
Unlimited access to all site content
€ 1 / month for 3 months, then € 3.99 / month for 3 months
Unlock unlimited access to all content on the site
#Australia #invest #million #dollars #protect #koalas #animals #exterminated #fires #diseases