Tune In: How cute are koalas?

Step 1

Koalas are adorable! From their big fluffy ears to their fluffy white tummies, they are an iconic representation of Australian Wildlife. But why do they have big fluffy ears, and why do they have white tummies?

Let’s explore the adaptations of our koalas. Adaptations are features or behaviours that help living things survive in their habitat.

Using the worksheet, identify as many different features of the koalas as you can, and write a short sentence with an idea for how this feature helps koalas to survive. You might think about their:

fur
ears
claws
nose
eyes
flanges (fingers and toes)

Step 2

Open up this slide deck and explore the features of the koala.

Which feature is your favourite?
Which adaptation surprised you the most?
Which feature do you want to know more about?

Step 3

Not only do koalas have different features to help them live in Australian forests, they also do different things. The different things that they do are called behaviours. On our worksheet, can you match the different behaviours to the images?

Step 4

Koalas are AMAZINGLY adapted to survive in Australian forests. However, their available habitat is decreasing, and the pressures on their survival are increasing. In February 2022, the koala populations in Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory were uplisted from ‘vulnerable’ to ‘endangered’. What’s going on? The problem lies with the koalas' habitat. Let’s go outside and see what local habitats we can find.

Find Out: Backyard biodiversity

Step 1

Let’s go for a walk outside, in a natural space. It might be your backyard, a local park, or a community garden! You can choose 1 space, or you might like to compare 2 or more different spaces.

Safety Considerations: Make sure you are sun smart, dressed appropriately, bring some water, and are aware of any hazards that may be present such as bull ants, snakes or stinging nettles.

Our aim is to look at the health of different habitats and see what kinds of plants and animals these spaces provide a home for.

Step 2

Find a comfortable space where you can sit down and close your eyes. Take three deep, slow breaths and work through the following 5,4,3,2,1 list.

What are 5 things you can see?
What are 4 things you can feel?
What are 3 things you can hear?
What are 2 things you can smell?
What is 1 way you are feeling?

Did you notice any animals? Maybe you saw bees buzzing around, or hear a magpie warbling away. What about plants? Maybe you could smell a Eucalyptus tree or saw some bright flowers. Let’s take a closer look at what is in this habitat.

Step 3

Using your worksheet, let’s start to record what we notice around us. Start with the big things (trees, rivers, buildings), work your way down (bushes, shrubs, logs), and the smallest level (grases, herbs, mulch). Then go back and add in any animals, birds, or insects that you find. When you think you are finished, pause and add more details. It might help to label your drawing.

Here is an example from our local park:

Animals can be hard to find! If you think there are no animals about, take another look and try to find some signs of animals. This could include footprints, fur or feathers, scratch marks on trees, homes (nests, ant mounds, possum dreys, burrows) or even scat (that’s a science word for poo). You might also hear animals that you can’t see.

Learning Extension: Want to learn more about how scientists are using scat to help our animals? Check out the Scat Chat podcast.

Step 4

If you can, move to a different natural area and repeat the survey. You might like to compare your backyard to the local park, a beach to a woodland, or a park with a river to one without. See what different habitats you can identify. How does the biodiversity compare between the sites? Is there one place that has a lot more variety of plants and animals than the other? Why do you think this is?

Step 5

Did you see any koalas? Koalas are hard to find at the best of times, even when you are in good koala habitat. Now they are listed as endangered, it’s even trickier! Answer these questions to see if you were in good koala habitat:

Was there a lot (more than 20) of big tall gum trees? (Koalas need a large number of trees, so they can choose the best quality food and move about.)
Was the habitat you surveyed connected to larger stretches of habitat, or was it a separate pocket? Clearing trees reduces the amount of good habitat available for koalas and breaks up or fragments the habitat into smaller pockets.
Was there a road nearby? Roads also fragment koala habitats and are dangerous for them to cross.
Was there any land clearing for new buildings, roads or farms nearby?
Were dogs allowed in the area? Were there cows or horses nearby? Without enough trees, koalas spend more time on the ground where dogs, horses, and cows mistake them for a threat.
Are you in Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia or the ACT Their traditional range stretches from Adelaide, around the coast to the east and up through Queensland. There are koalas in other places that have been translocated.

So what do you think? Would this be a good place for koalas to live?

Let’s head back inside and look at how Australia’s habitat and biodiversity are changing.

Take Action: Koalas forever

Let’s explore where koalas live and what is going on. Take a look at these maps.

Here we can see the koala habitat on the eastern and southern coast of Australia. We can see that the places koalas live are also the places that humans have modified the most heavily by clearing land, building roads and buildings, and making other changes to the environment.

We can also see that this area has one of the highest probabilities of a bushfire occurring.

Comparing koala forests from 1788 to 2016, we can see that the amount of carbon captured in this forest, often in the form of large mature gum trees, has changed a LOT.

The primary threats to our koalas are:

Habitat loss due to land clearing and deforestation

Habitat fragmentation: the habitat is broken into smaller separate patches, and koalas cannot move around easily

Droughts and high temperatures, more often caused by climate change, also increase the frequency and severity of bushfires

Diseases, specifically koala retrovirus (KoRV) and Chlamydia (Chlamydia pecorum)

Without action, koalas on Australia’s east coast are facing extinction by 2050. It’s a pretty big problem! The good news is that scientists and conservationists are on the case.

Watch this video:

KOALAS FOREVER 🐨🐨 | WWF-Australia - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1L6hyGiooY

Can you make a plan to help our koalas? You might like to:

Wear it Wild this Earth Hour.
Learn about what you can do to protect wildlife, including koalas.
Research and plant native flora in your local area.
Learn more about koalas and help spread the word with family and friends.
Use the My Backyard Tool to explore the threatened species in your area and how you can help.

Literacy extension: Using the worksheet, match the new keywords we have found to their definitions.

Healthy Koala Habitats

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