Why this world first breeding program will help save our koalas

Can you imagine Australia without our iconic koalas? No, we don’t want to either. However, we are now at a critical point in their survival as koala numbers continue to decline due to habitat loss, disease, road strikes and dog attacks. The 2019/20 Black Summer Bushfires also pushed this already threatened species to the brink of endangerment and extinction. 

To help save this endangered species, Koala Conservation Australia (KCA) is taking urgent action. We’re launching a world-first Wild Koala Conservation Breeding Program to help save our much-loved marsupials. This conservation project aims to breed wild koalas for release to sustainable healthy habitat. Our purpose-built facility at Port Macquarie will genetically rescue NSW north coast koala populations and establish a healthy diverse ‘breed for release’ population in this region. 

Why a Wild Breeding Program? 

A small number of koalas are bred in captivity in zoos each year. However, on release to the wild, these relatively ‘humanised’ koalas are especially vulnerable to starvation, injury and attack as they cannot function on their own.
Unfortunately, wild breeding rates are also declining, largely due to disease and a loss of genetic diversity as habitats continue to be squeezed and isolated as human development progresses. Without intervention, the outlook is grim for koalas and they were declared ‘endangered’ in 2022. 

Enter KCA’s Wild Koala Conservation Breeding Program, developed in partnership with Taronga Conservation Society, University of Sydney, and the Australian Museum Research Institute. It aims to breed wild koalas from a carefully selected healthy ‘founder’ population, in a scientifically controlled research and breeding facility. This naturally forested facility, the first of its kind, will be as close to wild koala habitat as possible, whilst retaining strict biosecurity animal health and animal behaviour protocols.

Introducing Guulabaa (Place of Koala)

Generous donations to our Port Macquarie Koala Hospital following the 2019/20 bushfires helped us realise our goal of building a state-of-the-art facility for our Wild Koala Conservation Breeding program in Cowarra State Forest near Port Macquarie. We named it ‘Guulabaa’ (pronounced Goo-lah-bah) , which means ‘Place of the Koala’ (Gathang language). The Port Macquarie region has three of NSW’s most significant koala populations, and KCA are aiming to ensure these populations are kept viable and strong. 

We have partnered with Bunya Land Council, Forestry Corporation of NSW, and WildNets Adventure Park to create a wonderful tourism precinct. Guulabaa is a fantastic and welcoming place for the public to visit, learn and play. WildNets and the Big Koala Sculpture are now open, and the main KCA complex is due to open later this year. It will house visitor-friendly koala viewing platforms, interactive and educational exhibits and a nature focused retail outlet. The breeding facility itself will include a state-of-the-art koala clinic, and a laboratory for koala based scientific research. Koala breeding will be conducted on-site but away from the general public, in large, leafy, forested yards which limit human interaction and enable the re-wilding process. 

Breeding Program Goals

By 2026, we aim to have our first release of healthy, genetically diverse joeys. On release, they will be carefully tracked and monitored, to ensure they are adapting well, with resulting data analysed by our research partners and used to inform ongoing Program operation and design. Our aim is to develop a robust, scientifically proven Koala Conservation Australia Limited – Commercial in Confidence 2 | Page breeding model that can be replicated in other parts of Australia, to help rebuild koala populations across the nation.

Our koalas need YOU! 

We are a registered charity and rely on donations and volunteers to run our Koala Hospital and Wild Koala Conservation Breeding Program.  We are a not-for-profit organisation and all our funding is directed towards koalas and saving the species. You can help in a number of ways; by visiting our fabulous sites, spreading the good word about our wonderful work, adopting one of our koalas, or providing a donation via our website.
If you are local and would like to become one of our awesome volunteers,  you can apply here. Thank you for your support. It is gratefully received and will make a difference to our beautiful koalas.