Community & Business
9 December, 2022
50 spotted locally in annual koala count
After a successful regional koala census last month, organisers have intensified calls for the Regional Council to do more to protect vital habitat.
Toowoomba Region Koala Count secretary Chris Meibusch said the project has publicised the issue of local koalas and their habitat throughout the region.
But he said Toowoomba Regional Council’s habitat protection strategies remain way behind other proactive councils at Redlands and Logan City.
Mr Meibusch said recent bulldozing events in the region only highlight the inadequacy of local, state and federal laws to protect vital koala habitat.
“Although the count is not a reliable scientific tool for quantifying total koala numbers, it is apparent from our Toowoomba count that our koalas have a wide geographic distribution across our local government area’” he said.
The count showed, as did the first one in November 2021, that koalas are dispersed across the region, but concentrated in two significant areas - one between Highfields and Yarraman, the other around Pittsworth.
This year, one-third of the 180 koala sightings logged into the iNaturalist database during November were reported between Biddeston and Kooroongarra, south of Millmerran.
Of the 60 reports, the majority of 50 sightings came from the Yarranlea/Wallingford/St. Helens Road
area (30) and Kincora (20).
Pittsworth District Landcare Association president Alastair Silcock thanked the volunteer observers and landholders for their participation.
“Whilst the count was primarily done along roadsides, and therefore cannot give an accurate assessment of actual koala numbers, it does emphasise we are custodians of an iconic Australia creature right here in our own backyard,” he said.
“I want my grand-children, when they’re adults, even when they’re grandparents, to be able to see koalas in the wild in our district.”
Mr Silcock said unnecessary clearing of mature trees and huge infrastructure projects, such as Inland Rail in its current scope, are creating life and death dilemmas here and now for koalas and other wildlife.
In conjunction with the Koala Count, Pittsworth Landcare last month distributed Help Wild Life fridge magnets to all 530 households on Pittsworth’s mail services.
“We had eight land-holders contact us because of the mail-out, which was a pleasing immediate outcome, but the magnets can be used any time from now on,” Mr Silcock said
“If you see a koala, or any other interesting critter, let Pittsworth Landcare know through the QR code on the magnet.
“I also encourage people to log into the iNaturalist website.
“You can see where our koalas are concentrated.”
