Warning: Climate Change Could be a Threat to The Koala Bear

When we consider environmental wellness, we are often merely considering the wellness of human beings on the planet, and what climate change can mean for them. But what about the wellbeing of the koala bear?

This beloved Australian marsupial, which is often seen as an icon of the country itself, could be at risk of dying out, due to a variety of environmental factors such as dog attacks, road traffic and ever-shrinking habitat areas.

With temperatures on the increase, koalas could also be at risk of heat stress, as they are very susceptible to this. Scientists believe that recent temperatures have been beyond the coping ability of most koala bears, leaving them extremely vulnerable.

In the past, koalas used to be hunted for their soft, woolly coats, and were on the brink of extinction. Now loved and cherished, at least in some ways, by Australians, the koala bear is once again under threat due to the factors mentioned above.

Shrinking habitats are often due to environmental factors such as droughts, land clearing for farming or logging and bushfires, as well as the mining and development of urban areas that see their natural habitats being destroyed to clear space.

Over the last 20 years, the koala population has decreased significantly, and has dropped by around 40 percent in the state of Queensland along, and more in other areas of Australia. There are thought to be somewhere between 45,000 and 90,000 koalas in existence in the wild, which may sound like a lot but is actually a relatively small number, especially when you consider all of the various factors that can threaten their lives (it is thought, for example, that around 4,000 koalas every year are killed by cars or by dogs).

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  1. himanshu says

    Hi

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