Northern Tablelands Local Lands Services has been researching the location of koalas across the Northern Tablelands since 2016.
The study is helping determine the status of the koala on the Northern Tablelands. The latest round of monitoring in 2018 was undertaken by the University of the Sunshine Coast. It focused on areas around Tenterfield and north of Glen Innes and the results are in. It also included an analysis of tree species where koala scats (poo) were found.
The study will help Northern Tablelands Local Land Services decide how they can best help koalas in the region.
Elsie Baker, from Northern Tablelands Local Land Services, is delighted that as part of the research, a new population has been identified near Tenterfield.
"Anecdotally, we've had reports that koala numbers on the tablelands were dropping, but until recently, there's been no evidence to back that," explained Elsie.
"The latest report from the University of the Sunshine Coast indicates that in 2018, koalas in Glen Innes, Emmaville and Tenterfield were likely to be declining. On a positive note, a healthy population north of Tenterfield has been found, previously not known to experts," she said.
University of the Sunshine Coast's Russell Miller and Baxter the dog have been integral to the study in identifying koala scats on Travelling Stock Routes (TSRs) near Glen Innes, Emmaville, Deepwater and Tenterfield. Koalas excrete up to 150 times a day, facilitating the tracking process. Concurrently, Russell recorded the tree species under which koala scats were located.
The most common trees used by koalas in these areas were identified as New England Stringybark "Eucalyptus caliginosa", Mountain Blue Gum "Eucalyptus deanei", Blakely's Red Gum "Eucalyptus blakelyi" and Spotted Gum "Corymbia maculate."
"In previous years, the Cool Country Koala Project found high activity in areas such as Inverell/Delungra, Nowendoc and Armidale/Uralla but very low activity in others such as Ashford, an area with many historic koala records up to 2010. We don't yet know what is causing the decline," noted Elsie.
Northern Tablelands Local Land Services will be conducting a pilot study in the coming months on two healthy populations. The University of the Sunshine Coast will be collecting fresh scats to test the koala populations' genetics.
"Through this research, we're hoping to learn more about the koala population structures, if they are isolated and if they are in-bred," Elsie explained.
Over the coming weeks, further koala surveys will be carried out by researchers, specifically around Delungra and Armidale. Elsie is encouraging landholders to participate by opening their gates to allow important research to be undertaken.
"Northern Tablelands LLS is looking to track koala locations while researchers are here during this month, so they can be as fresh as possible for the pilot genetic test. This is a terrific opportunity to collect as much relevant data as possible to ensure that we are able to assist with the health and sustainability of our koala populations into the future, said Elsie.
