🐨 If You See a Koala… Here’s What To Do!

Lots of people have been talking about a koala sighting, so here’s a simple guide to help everyone understand what’s happening — and how we can help.

✅ Step 1: Check the

3 D’s

Look for:
Danger 🚗🐶
Distress 😟
Disease 🤒

🚨 If the koala is in danger or hurt

If the koala is:

• injured
• on the ground for a long time
• near cars or dogs

📞 Call 1300 ANIMAL straight away.

Sometimes koalas wander far from home, so if it seems safe, they may just move on by themselves.

😊 If the koala looks healthy and safe

Enjoy the special moment — but keep your distance.

📍 Please report the sighting (it helps protect koalas and their habitat).

🤒 If the koala looks sick

Call 1300 ANIMAL if you notice:

• crusty or swollen eyes
• a dirty or wet bottom

A sick koala needs help quickly.

💚 Thank you for caring!

Koalas need people to look out for them — and every report helps keep them safe. 🐾

In 2022, koalas in Queensland, New South Wales and the ACT were officially listed as Endangered.
That means they need extra protection, because there aren’t many left.

Long ago, there were millions of koalas in Australia.
Now, only about 50,000–80,000 koalas may be left in the wild.

😢 Their numbers have dropped a lot — around 80% in the last 10 years.

In South East Queensland, koalas are losing their homes because more people, houses, and roads are being built.

🦴 A sad history

In the early 1900s, millions of koalas were hunted for their fur.
This was stopped in 1931, but koalas are still in trouble today.

💚 That’s why it’s so important we protect their trees and keep them safe.

Male koalas are usually bigger and stronger.
They have a dark patch on their chest that can smell quite strong!
They rub it on trees to say, “This is my area!” 🌳

Female koalas are usually smaller and have a white chest.
They also have a pouch (like a kangaroo!) that opens backwards to help keep their baby safe while climbing.

✨ Fun fact:
Every koala has unique nose markings — like a fingerprint — so you can tell them apart! 👃🐾

Koalas mostly eat eucalyptus leaves 🌿.

They may also munch on other plants like wattle, bottlebrush, paperbark, and casuarina if they’re nearby.

A koala needs to eat about 500 grams of leaves every day — that’s a LOT of chewing!

🍃 How can they eat eucalyptus?

Eucalyptus is poisonous to most animals, but koalas have a special tummy that helps break it down safely.

Baby koalas (joeys) learn how to digest eucalyptus by eating a special soft poop from their mum called “pap” when they are about 3–4 months old. (Yep… gross but important! 😄)

😴 Why do koalas sleep so much?

Eucalyptus leaves don’t give much energy, so koalas save their strength by sleeping a lot — often up in trees during the day.
They usually wake up to eat and move around at night, and also at dawn and dusk.

✨ Fun fact:
Koalas (especially males) can sometimes walk around during the day too — especially during mating season, so keep an eye out! 👀🐾

Female koalas can start having babies at about 2 years old, and males start breeding at about 3–4 years old.

A koala mum usually has one joey each year.

After about 35 days, a tiny baby koala is born — it’s only about 2 cm long, like a little jellybean! 🫘

The joey crawls into its mum’s pouch and drinks milk there.
At around 6 months, it starts coming out and rides on mum’s back. 🐾💚

By about 12 months, the joey is weaned (stops drinking milk).
Around 2 years old, it leaves to find its own home.

🕰 How long do koalas live?

Koalas can live up to 12 years in the wild, but sadly many don’t live that long because of:
🚗 cars
🐶 dogs
🔥 bushfires
🤒 sickness

✨ Fun fact: Koala twins are rare, but they do happen! And very rarely, some koalas even have blue eyes. 👀💙

During hot weather or drought, koalas may look for water and sometimes fall into swimming pools.

Koalas can swim, but they can drown if they can’t climb back out.

✅ A simple way to help is to leave a rope with a float in the pool so a koala can grab it and climb out.

⚠️ Important:
If you see a koala drinking from a pool or searching for water, it might be sick or dehydrated.

📞 Call your local koala rescue group (or 1300 ANIMAL) for advice.

A few simple things can help keep koalas safe in your backyard!

🌳 Plant the right trees
Ask your local nursery which koala food trees grow best in your area. Plant native trees and bushes so koalas can move safely between them.

🌿 Keep big old trees
Old trees are super important for wildlife — and they can take 100 years to grow!

🚧 Make fences koala-safe
Fences can block koalas. You can help by adding a wooden pole or plank so they can climb over more easily.

🏊 Help around pools
Use koala-safe pool fencing, or leave a rope with a float in the water so a koala can climb out.

🐶 Keep dogs under control
Keep dogs inside, on a lead, or in a safe fenced area — dogs can seriously hurt koalas.

👀 Look, don’t touch
If a koala visits, watch quietly from a distance and enjoy the moment! 💚🐾