Koalas count on support

“As a rule of thumb, 80 per cent of koalas occur on private land, while only 20pc are in protected areas such as nature reserves and national parks,” said Dr Gráinne Cleary, a wildlife ecologist with the National Parks Association.

“Koalas have a preference for trees growing in the same fertile soils that humans choose to farm and live on.

“The fertile soils provide leaves with higher levels of nutrients favoured by koalas.”

Macadamia farmers Paul and Debbie Chapman, “Tremarajo”, Tregeagle near Lismore, are proof that farming and environmental conservation can co-exist.

As members of Landcare, the Chapmans have allowed conservationists to plant 300 koala food trees on the bottom edge of their 42.5-hectare property.

Tregeagle Landcare Group has partnered with Friends of the Koala and Envite in a $100,000 project funded by the NSW Environmental Trust to restore a koala corridor on four properties.

The Chapmans have about 3600 macadamia trees on their property.

“We also have four steers that act as lawnmowers,” Mrs Chapman said.

“They’re helping the koalas by keeping the grass down.”

The couple expect to see koalas during the count.

“Last year I saw a mother and baby in the gum tree out the back three times, but I think they were different mothers,” Mrs Chapman said.

This year there have been fewer sightings.

“The patriarch had a middle ear infection and fell from the tree,” she said.

“We took him to the vet and he had a split diaphragm and sadly he had to be put down.”

Dr Cleary said the International Union for the Conservation of Nature had declared koalas one of the top 10 species most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

The Great Koala Count is on from November 7 to 17.

Landholders are asked to record the location of koalas and answer questions about the koala, its habitat and threats.

Register at www.koalacount.org.au and download the smartphone app BioTag, which works on iPhone and android phones. Participants can also use an online tool.