Does anyone assume that wild populations of Koalas will cease to remain in say … 100 more years or will we rely on captive breeding programs or the populations of koalas in Kangaroo Island to maintain numbers of this furry critter?

monkey skipper said:

Does anyone assume that wild populations of Koalas will cease to remain in say … 100 more years or will we rely on captive breeding programs or the populations of koalas in Kangaroo Island to maintain numbers of this furry critter?

They are under threat from two directions. The first is the loss of habitat because of human development and second Chlamydia, which affects their ability to reproduce. These are not insurmountable problems so if there is a political will, there is a way.

PermeateFree said:

monkey skipper said:

Does anyone assume that wild populations of Koalas will cease to remain in say … 100 more years or will we rely on captive breeding programs or the populations of koalas in Kangaroo Island to maintain numbers of this furry critter?

They are under threat from two directions. The first is the loss of habitat because of human development and second Chlamydia, which affects their ability to reproduce. These are not insurmountable problems so if there is a political will, there is a way.

at current rates of decline?

monkey skipper said:

PermeateFree said:

monkey skipper said:

Does anyone assume that wild populations of Koalas will cease to remain in say … 100 more years or will we rely on captive breeding programs or the populations of koalas in Kangaroo Island to maintain numbers of this furry critter?

They are under threat from two directions. The first is the loss of habitat because of human development and second Chlamydia, which affects their ability to reproduce. These are not insurmountable problems so if there is a political will, there is a way.

at current rates of decline?

Statistics
• There has been a 51 per cent decline in less than three years and a 64 per cent decline in the 10 years since monitoring began of the Koala Coast koala population.
• Koala populations are likely to contract eastwards and southwards to coastal regions under a projected hotter and drier climate under future climate change, with populations in arid and semiarid areas of Queensland already showing signs of contractions towards the coast.
http://www.uq.edu.au/news/?article=23093

Numbers of the marsupial have dropped by up to 95 per cent since the 1990s and conservation groups are demanding urgent action by the government to save the remaining colonies. There are believed to be just 43,000 of the tree-dwelling animals left on the mainland and in south east Queensland alone the population has plummeted from 25,000 to 4,000 in a decade.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/8525882/Fears-over-Australias-declining-koala-population.html

PermeateFree said:

monkey skipper said:

PermeateFree said:

They are under threat from two directions. The first is the loss of habitat because of human development and second Chlamydia, which affects their ability to reproduce. These are not insurmountable problems so if there is a political will, there is a way.

at current rates of decline?

Statistics
• There has been a 51 per cent decline in less than three years and a 64 per cent decline in the 10 years since monitoring began of the Koala Coast koala population.
• Koala populations are likely to contract eastwards and southwards to coastal regions under a projected hotter and drier climate under future climate change, with populations in arid and semiarid areas of Queensland already showing signs of contractions towards the coast.
http://www.uq.edu.au/news/?article=23093

Numbers of the marsupial have dropped by up to 95 per cent since the 1990s and conservation groups are demanding urgent action by the government to save the remaining colonies. There are believed to be just 43,000 of the tree-dwelling animals left on the mainland and in south east Queensland alone the population has plummeted from 25,000 to 4,000 in a decade.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/8525882/Fears-over-Australias-declining-koala-population.html

If you have time have a read of this article. The alarm bells are ringing all over the country re the decline of the koala .

http://time2transcend.wordpress.com/2013/06/03/koala-extinctions-already-a-reality/