Photos

Koala in the wild, Belair National Park.

I've been very lucky with this cute guy, as it's not so often that koalas are seen in the wild and even less often seen moving (they sleep 18 hours a day!).

I was sitting at the top of a fall (with no water as the weather was dry), spotting birds when this one came to me, sit 50 cm from me, let me take thousands of pictures (!!!) and then climbed a tree...
Such emotion !

The Koala was hunted almost to extinction in the early 20th century, largely for its fur. Millions of furs were traded to Europe, and the population has not recovered from such decimation. Today, habitat loss and the impacts of irresponsible urbanisation (for example dog attacks and traffic accidents) are the leading threats to the survival of koalas. In recent years, some colonies have been hard hit by disease, especially chlamydia. The Koala requires large areas of healthy, connected forest and will travel long distances along tree corridors in search of new territory and mates. The ever-increasing human population of the coastal parts of the continent continues to cut these corridors by agricultural and residential development, forestry and road-building, marooning Koala colonies in decreasing areas of bush. The long term viability of koalas is therefore threatened by genetic weakness. (Wikipedia)

In WS, other shot as he is moving.