Canberra, Feb 11 (Agency) Australia on Friday announced that it is putting the popular koala in the listof endangered species especially across most of its east coast, after the numbers of the animal declined dramatically in recent times, the BBC reported on Friday. The once-thriving marsupial population has been ravaged by both natural phenomenon as well as human activities like land clearing, bushfires, drought, disease and other threats. The Black Summer bushfires of 2019-20 killed around 5,000 koalas and affected 24 per cent of habitats in New South Wales alone.
Scientists have also warned that climate change will also exacerbate bushfires and drought, and reduce the quality of the animal’s eucalyptus leaf diet. The federal government announced that the listing was for the states of Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). “This listing adds priority when it comes to the conservation of the koala,” Environment Minister Sussan Ley said on Friday, after the government earlier came under fire for dithering on the issue. She said officials were designing a recovery plan, and land development applications would now be assessed for impacts on the species. Last year, an inquiry in New South Wales found that koalas would become extinct there by 2050 unless urgent action was taken to preserve it.