City Libraries, City of Gold Coast

Koala crunch time

eng

videorecording

Koala crunch time

videorecording

809018644

Broadcast on ABC1 on 20 August, 2012

45

"In key parts of Australia, koalas are dying in big numbers. In Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory the attrition rate has been so high the Federal Government responded by placing koalas on the Threatened Species "at risk" list. Why is this happening? The answer is simple. Development, cars, dogs, disease and climate change are making life tough for these fascinating creatures. The bigger question is, what can be done to save them? Four Corners travels to three koala hot spots to try to understand the problems they confront. First, reporter Marian Wilkinson looks at South Eastern Queensland, an area where development is exploding. Large tracts of bushland have been set aside for housing and other urban developments, which means koalas will lose their homes and food. In New South Wales koalas are also finding the going tough. West of the Great Dividing Range, conservation programs have tried to create places where the animals can live and be protected from predators, but rising temperatures are putting them at risk. In Victoria the situation is very different, but equally as troubling. In that State the koala population was revived with descendants from a small colony on French Island, south-east of Melbourne. Unfortunately, because this revived population came from a small group, there is a limited gene pool, which means major environmental changes leaves many of them at risk too. There is no doubt Australians want to save this much-loved national icon, but are we prepared to compromise development to protect the koalas' natural habitat?"--ABC-TV website

live action

Four corners Koala crunch time, [videorecording]