One of Australia’s most well-known icons, the koala, could well be extinct within 30 years, thanks to a combination of disease, climate change and the sexual disease chlamydia.
The Australian Koala Foundation have reported their findings to the Australian Government, urging them to consider the species ‘vulnerable’, claiming there may be as few as 43,000 left on the mainland. The last survey, in 2003, showed the koala population at around 100,000, indicating just how steep the decline has been. The group believes, if allowed unabated, the downturn could lead to the species extinction within 30 years.
It is estimated koala’s bring over $1 billion to the Australian economy, via tourism.
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