Like the rest of us, Australia is dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there is some good news coming out of the outback country; the first rescued koalas are being released back into the wild. The marsupials have been well cared for in animal hospitals and zoos since they were rescued last year from the wildfires.
The 2019/2020 bushfire season killed nearly 10,000 koalas, about one-third of their population, which put the species at a significant threat of extinction. With Australia’s bushfire season officially over as of March 31, rescuers have started releasing the marsupials back into their natural habitat. Sometimes, even back to the tree where they were found.
On March 25 and 27, Sydney-based Science for Wildlife released twelve koalas back into their natural habitat west of Sydney, in the Blue Mountains. Science for Wildlife is a non-profit conservation organization that aims to conserve wildlife through science and technology.
The staff at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo had been taking care of the koalas, since they were rescued in December 2019.
Dr. Kellie Leigh, Science for Wildlife’s executive director, said:
While they have coped well in care, we are delighted to finally send our koalas home. We have been busy assessing the burnt area that we rescued them from, to establish when the conditions have improved enough that the trees can support them again. The recent rains have helped, and there is now plenty of new growth for them to eat, so the time is right. We will be radio-tracking them and keeping a close eye on them to make sure that they settle in OK.
Science for Wildlife isn’t the only one releasing recovered koalas. Port Macquarie Koala Hospital, on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, is also releasing marsupials. Staff and volunteers from the animal hospital released their first koala, on April 2. The koala, named Anwen, was rescued in October 2019 and was the first female to be admitted during the bushfires.
The president of Port Macquarie Koala Hospital, Sue Ashton, said:
Anwen’s recovery has been extraordinary. It marks a proud moment for Australia; to see our Koala population and habitat starting to recover from what was such a devastating time.
Four-year-old, Anwen, is the first of twenty-six marsupials that the animal hospital is releasing back into the wild. The remaining koalas will be split up into three groups and will be released in Crowdy Bay and two areas of the Lake Innes Nature Reserve.
Ashton added:
This is a heart-warming day for us – to be able to release so many of our koalas back to their original habitats, even to their original tree in some cases – makes us very happy.
Since Australia’s latest bushfire was so destructive, the country changed the rules of its Working Holiday Visa program. The new rules allow ‘young Britons’ to obtain a second- or third-year visa if they are volunteering in a bushfire-ravaged area.
