The Australian Reptile Park is at the helm of a world first conservation project to help preserve the NSW koala population. Koala Ark, the world’s largest koala sanctuary was announced on December 4 in response to the NSW bushfires that have ravaged the state’s koala population and habitat.
A 7,000ha sanctuary to be installed in the Barrigton Tops region, Koala Ark is being spearheaded by Aussie Ark, an Australian conservation charity and not-for-profit organisation founded by the John and Robyn Weigel, the conservationists that also founded The Australian Reptile Park, with Reptile Park General Manager, Tim Faulkner, Aussie Ark’s President.
The multi-million dollar project has already been budgeted and is expected to be completed by 2022, with Aussie Ark needing to fundraise a further $1.375M over the next three years to complete the project on time. This costing includes the installation of a koala research station on site, a fire management strategy, wildlife monitoring cameras, specialised feral exclusion fencing to keep threats out and three years worth of wages for wildlife officers who’ll be monitoring the site, among other resources.
It’s hoped a population between 500 to 1,700 koalas will be able to thrive there once the project is completed. It’s believed Koala Ark will have a drastic impact on the extinction trajectory of the NSW koala which is considered endangered, with it estimated the site will house approximately 7 per cent of the wild population.
It comes after bushfires, which continue to rage across the state, destroyed thousands of hectares of koala habitat, with an estimated 2,000 koalas incinerated in the fires, with this figure not accounting for the number of koalas that died from fire related injuries in care.
Mr Faulkner said Koala Ark would be a lifeline for the embattled species. “Koala Ark will be a world first koala sanctuary that protects against all threats to the species: fire, disease, car strikes, feral and pet attacks and habitat destruction and fragmentation. “Aussie Ark are experts at species recovery and now it’s the koalas turn,” Faulkner said.
While the project will help anchor the species, Faulkner said it was time for Australians to start thinking proactively about the future of native wildlife.. “The current fires have highlighted a real issue with the way Australia handles conservation. “Koalas were endangered before the fires. “We’ve known they were on track to be extinct in NSW by 2050 long before the fires. “All the threats to koalas are as real as the fires are today,” Faulkner said. According to Faulkner, conservation efforts for the koala need to now shift to prioritise habitat recovery and restoration to future proof the species.
“What these fires have shown us is that the world cares about koalas and now is the time to push the button on proactive species management. “As it stands, if we keep focusing conservation efforts around reactive measures, eventually there’ll be no koalas left to save. “It’s time to start future proofing what we have left,” Faulkner said.
Faulkner said Koala Ark was on track for its 2022 completion date with a population of around 20 koalas already found to be living on the sanctuary land. Outside of creating the country’s first fully protected koala population, Faulkner said the sanctuary would, in time, also become a haven for other natives. “We have the land, we have the koalas, now we just need to protect it,” he said.
Source: Website, Dec 10 Aussie Ark: Koala Ark Project Interview, Dec 10 Tim Faulkner, Aussie Ark Reporter: Dilon Luke