Sad find on tree stump prompts urgent plea to Aussies: 'Will take years'
Residents across the country are being asked to do just one thing for Australia's wildlife.
A photo of a koala and its joey found at the top of a massive tree stump on a farm has prompted an urgent request to Aussies about the ongoing threat that the iconic marsupial faces.
Those who can do so are being urged to plant trees "now" because it will take "years" before the life-changing wildlife corridors grow and eventually serve their purpose as vital habitats for koalas and other species threatened by human activity.
The two koalas were found trapped on the stump of a massive Cypress tree near Warrnambool, Victoria, for "at least three days" and despite the property owner attempting to help the koalas down, experts from rescue and rehabilitation centre Mosswood Wildlife are "not sure why they didn't move".
Sadly, koalas are facing extinction in large parts of the country, and are listed as endangered as the habitat they once called home is being destroyed to make way for new housing developments. Large backyards that once contained trees have been bulldozed and subdivided as human density increases and koalas and other species are forced out.
"With all the housing development booming in our area we are taking away the trees and safe passage for many different native animals," a rescuer from Mosswood Wildlife told Yahoo News Australia.
"It will take years for trees to become substantial, so we really need to be getting trees planted now to make wildlife corridors and providing food for wildlife like koalas before the habitat destruction we are doing become irreparable."
Why were the koalas on tree stump?
According to wildlife rescuers, the "extremely old" Crypress tree was cut down three months ago after sustaining damage in a storm due to safety concerns.
"Although not eucalyptus it is correct that often koalas spend large amounts of time in other trees," they said. "Cypress trees in particular often are the resting spot for koalas as they provide a lot of shade, shelter, spots to hide and a lot of safety."
"After being out in the heat and without food for so long, they were brought into Mosswood for some fluids and RnR," the rescue centre shared online.
Rescuers warned that before chopping down trees of any species, homeowners should check for not just koalas but "possums, birds and any wildlife before cutting and removing their home,"
Thankfully, the koalas were able to be returned to the wild a few days later in a more appropriate location.
Koalas have 'nowhere to go' in sad trend
Yahoo News has been reporting on the displacement of koalas across the country for years, but the problem has continued to worsen.
“We are seeing that they’ve got nowhere to go,” Moreton Bay Koala Rescue president Debbie previously told Yahoo. “They’re coming out of what little habitat is left [and] they’ve got no corridors, and the corridors they do have are normally across main roads, though housing developments.”
Debbie said while the need for more housing is obvious, there is a better way to go about it. “Leave corridors, leave some trees standing, you know, work with the environment don’t just knock everything down.”
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