2015-03-03 Planning & Organisation Agenda

PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA   3 MARCH 2015




                                                    Page 7 of 147

PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                          3 MARCH 2015

                At the other end of the spectrum, koala populations in many parts of
                Queensland and New South Wales are in rapid decline. The animals here
                face an increasing threat from urban expansion, disease, habitat loss, vehicle
                strike and predation by dogs.
                Koalas are solitary animals and very territorial. They often act aggressively
                towards other individuals. Males are more aggressive.
                The home range of an individual koala will depend on the habitat including
                available food trees. Within a socially stable group, home ranges overlap at
                the edges, and that is where any social interaction takes place.
                Koalas are very fussy eaters. They consume foliage of certain eucalypts,
                although some non-eucalypts may contribute to the diet. Females produce
                just one young per year.
                It is not known how many Koalas there are in the Noosa Shire area.
                Locally, koalas have been sighted at Peregian, Weyba, Sunshine Beach,
                Noosa National Park, Tewantin, Tewantin National Park, Tinbeerwah,
                Cooroibah, Cootharaba, Doonan, Lake Macdonald, Ringtail Creek, Yurol
                Forest, Pomona, Cooran, Kin Kin, Woondum National Park and elsewhere.
                Recently there have been verified reports of a koala on Noosa North Shore.
                The current population of koalas in the Noosa Heads National Park Headland
                section on the northern side of the Park are probably related to the two males
                and three females purposely released there in 1966. These 5 koalas were
                translocated from forestry sites on Bribie Island.
                As the Queensland Koala Conservation Plan notes, small fragmented
                populations may result in inbreeding and thus a reduction in genetic variation.
                This in turn can reduce the health potential and long-term viability of
                fragmented populations.
                Koalas are subject to a range of diseases. Most significant and commonplace
                is Chlamydiosis, which causes blindness, infertility and sometimes death.

                TRANSLOCATION OF KOALAS

                Translocation is controlled by the State Government. There are strict rules
                that must be met. Currently, koalas must be returned in close proximity to
                their place of origin. This is commonplace amongst regulations covering
                rehabilitated wildlife generally. It is designed to prevent indiscriminate
                translocations and to increase survival rates. Translocating animals to new
                areas has the potential to upset existing territories and also spread pathogens
                to new populations.

                                                                                            Page 7 of 147