Save the Koala day
September 30 2022
On the 30th of September 2022, the Currumbin Wildlife Hospital will celebrate ‘Save the Koala Day’.
Koalas are now considered endangered in Queensland, and face the very real threat of extinction due to disease, habitat destruction, vehicle strikes and animal attacks.
Last year (2021) Currumbin Wildlife Hospital treated almost 500 koalas from South-East Queensland and Northern New South Wales.
60% of Currumbin Wildlife Hospital Koala admissions are due to chlamydia, a bacterial infection and one of the largest threats posed to the species’ survival. Of the other 40% many had sub-clinical chlamydia, meaning they were becoming sick.
Over the past 30 years, there’s been an exponential rise in Koala admissions at Currumbin Wildlife Hospital.
In Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, Koalas are listed as endangered, and this status can be attributed to the widespread disease.
In 2020, Currumbin Wildlife Hospital, together with QUT Professor Ken Beagley, launched the Koala vaccine research program and is now vaccinating all Koala patients against chlamydia prior to their release back into the wild, signifying a major milestone for the protection of koalas.
Currumbin Wildlife Hospital Senior Vet Dr Michael Pyne is leading the way in this urgent Koala research and working hard to prevent the imminent localised extinction of the Koala. Dr Pyne has been treating Koalas for more than twenty years and believes prevention is better than cure.
Not just on Save the Koala Day, but everyday Currumbin Wildlife Hospital staff and volunteers work to raise awareness for Koala conservation.
But we can’t do it alone.
For more information and to donate:
