Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus)

A lovely healthy koala maintains a dignified aloofness while waiting for us to bugger off and leave him alone to conduct his secret koala business in peace. Koalas were hunted heavily in the early 20th century, with 8 million koalas killed for their fur which was popular in the coat, glove and hat industries in the United States. In the state of Queensland Koalas were almost driven to extinction when the Queensland Government declared open season on the marsupials in 1927. Now listed as vulnerable, the current wild Koala population is about 80,000. The biggest current threat to their existence is habitat destruction caused by agriculture and urbanisation. Filmed on our property at Stonehenge Road, near Leyburn, Queensland