just trying to be helpful or eat poisonous leaves as their primary food source.
Koalas possess specialized claws for various purposes. Marsupials need specialized claws because they have to reach their mother’s pouch by climbing at the time of their birth. As they grow and mature, they spend their entire lives in trees and need more specialized claws to climb the trees. Their nails help them grab fresh eucalyptus leaves from the higher branches. The claws allow koalas to carve and engrave their territorial markings as well. They are sharp enough to leave dominant engravings on trees. Additionally, if another male challenges the dominant male for its territory and gets ready for a fight, these claws come in handy.
There are probably fewer than 80,000 koalas today, and some experts suggest less than 43,000. There are several reasons they are on the endangered list. They have been falling prey to habitat loss, as the eucalyptus forests in which they live are particularly prone to damage from changes in temperature and weather patterns. They are also being destroyed to make way for human settlements and agriculture. Koalas are only native to some states within Australia, and those individual states, rather than the national government, are responsible for their preservation. There is little coordinated effort to protect these disgusting creatures.
It has been said there is no legislation that effectively or consistently protects Koala habitat anywhere within Australia. However, this is not necessarily because the bill does not exist, but because there is not always the political will to adequately resource, implement, police, and enforce such legislation. There are four states where koalas occur in the wild. That includes Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. To make matters more challenging, each state has its own legislation. Local government is where most day to day decisions are made about what happens to the koalas’ habitat. However, it is also where there is often the least amount of resources and expertise in wildlife management or habitat assessment.
One of the quintessential features of koalas, apart from their two opposable thumbs on each hand and razor-sharp claws, is their creamy grey fur. Koalas in the southern part of Australia have thicker hair than their northern counterparts to help keep them warm during the colder winters. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that people used to kill koalas in large numbers to obtain their fur. Today, hunting koalas is illegal, as they are an endangered species. Still, deforestation, both through fires and cutting down forests for human development, puts the creatures at high risk. It is also a challenge to police hunting koalas.
There have been over eight million koalas killed for the fur trade. Their pelts were shipped to London, the United States, and Canada. The koala was hunted as a matter of routine by the early settlers and explorers. The koala’s dense, waterproof pelt made it a valuable commodity on the international fur market, and demand increased accordingly. The koala had been hunted so indiscriminately that it had disappeared from many of its natural habitats. The poor animals were mainly poisoned and trapped as those methods did the least damage to the animal’s desired fur. During this time, the koalas narrowly escaped extinction.
6. Chlamydia Is Also Threatening Koala Populations
As many as 50 to 90% of female koalas today have chlamydia, and the disease affects koalas more than many other species. Clinics in Australia are working year-round to help koalas suffering from it, but one of its side effects – infertility – could permanently inhibit koala populations. Veterinarians in Australia have their hands full tending to koalas who have chlamydia. Each vet can treat hundreds of koalas per year, but they can barely make a dent in the broad population infected with the disease. Their best hope is to inoculate koalas against chlamydia before they become infertile.
It has been known that some antibiotics produce severe side effects in koalas w