Koalas are being released back into the wild after Australian bushfires

Months after catastrophic bushfires burned large parts of Australia, there’s a glimmer of good news in the midst of the globe’s other current emergency.

Koalas are slowly being released back into the wild following the unprecedented fires that devastated more than 2.5 million acres (1 million hectares) of the country over the summer.

Four adult koalas and one brand new joey have been released in the Kanangra-Boyd National Park in the state of New South Wales. They’re the first of 12 koalas rescued from the Blue Mountains area during the bushfires, which have been sheltering at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo since January. The others will be fast-tracked due to the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19), which means there will be 13 in total released back to the wild.

A shocking 10,000 koalas (a third of the total koala population of NSW) are estimated to have died from the bushfires, as well as drought over the summer. Koala hospitals saw an unprecedented increase in admissions during this time, with many being treated for burns and dehydration.

The four (well, five) lucky koalas have been returned to the wild by Sydney-based not-for-profit wildlife conservation organisation Science for Wildlife, with the help of San Diego Zoo Global, the U.S. zoo’s nonprofit that works with partners on international conservation projects. 

“While they have coped well in care we are delighted to finally send our koalas home,” said Dr. Kellie Leigh, executive director of Science for Wildlife in a press statement. “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.”

San Diego Zoo Global and Science for Wildlife have been working together on what’s known as the Blue Mountains Koala Project for five years, and they’re committed to putting resources toward increasing the koala population in the area. As the bushfires raged across the state of New South Wales, the team made the smart decision to remove as many koalas as they could from the area before the fires engulfed their habitats. While it was only a few koalas, it was something.

“During the massive fires, as 80 percent of the World Heritage Area burnt, we were at risk of losing the entire koala population at this site and so that’s what drove us to try something so radical and pull these koalas out before the fire hit,” said Dr. Leigh. 

The team used previously-installed radio tracking devices to locate the koalas for removal, and it’s this technology that will allow them to study how the marsupials adapt during what will be a lengthy reintroduction to the area. “The radio-tracking devices that enabled us to find the koalas quickly and move them from in front of the fire will now allow us to follow them and find out more about how koalas use the landscape after fire, including where else we might find pockets of surviving koalas,” said Dr. Leigh. “That will help us to plan a future for koalas under climate change, where we expect more frequent and intense fires.”

The 12 rescued koalas were given emergency housing and care by Taronga Zoo after their removal. They were some of the lucky ones, as many koalas across the country suffered horrific and often fatal burns, and other injuries due to the fires. Others had their food and water restricted following habitat destruction.

Taronga Zoo vets and nurses treated over 100 koalas across their two hospitals and in the field during the summer of bushfires and drought, according to Nick Boyle, Taronga’s director of welfare, conservation and science. “We were so pleased to be able to assist Science for Wildlife on their mission to save these incredibly valuable koalas. Taronga is committed to ensuring the survival of koalas in Australia,” said Boyle in a statement. “Whilst we still have a number of koalas being cared for at Taronga Western Plains Zoo, our attention is also turning to the long-term recovery of koalas in the wild.”

While four koalas doesn’t seem like a lot in the larger scheme of things, it’s a crucial and positive step toward rehabilitating the area’s population — the Blue Mountains region is home to the most genetically diverse koalas in Australia, making them important for species conservation. “There is still a lot of work to be done to assess what is left of koalas in this region and plan for population recovery,” said Jen Tobey, population sustainability researcher at San Diego Zoo Global, in a statement. “We are dedicated to continuing to support this critical work to conserve a significant koala population.”

It’s important work, considering in May 2019, the Australia Koala Foundation estimated that there were “no more than 80,000 koalas in Australia,” making them “functionally extinct.” Though this claim has been disputed by researchers, there’s little doubt the population was already on the decline before the fires. With up to an estimated 10,000 killed in NSW alone, the future of the koala needs every win it can get from its human helpers.