Koalas rescued from the Tasmanian Blue Gum Plantations on Kangaroos Island are safe and happy at Warrawong Wildlife Sanctuary.
The team at Mylor in the Adelaide Hills have announced five joeys are just starting to emerge from their mother’s pouches.
Owner of Warrawong, David Cobbold said the private insurance population of koalas shows what timely intervention can achieve.
“It’s an honour to be in a position to help Australia’s most iconic animal. Whether land clearing, cars, or feral animals, Australian animals are under threat. It really doesn’t take much to make a positive contribution,” David Cobbold said.
This announcement follows the release of whistleblower footage on Seven News in March, showing a koala falling to its death. The incident shocked wildlife advocates and prompted SA’s Environment Minister to investigate.
Warrawong Sanctuary was established in 1969 by Dr. John Wamsley, and broke new ground in wildlife conservation by introducing the first feral-proof fence. Now under the care of Narelle and David Cobbold, the sanctuary continues to flourish, providing a safe haven for a variety of native species, including koalas, potoros, bandicoots, 110 bird species and the elusive platypus.
This morning in an ARN Radio interview with Jennie Lenman David Cobbold spoke of the good news about the koalas while also weighing in on an issue in the headlines, sharing his thoughts about the shift for Australian tourist destinations to stop the practice of koala cuddling.
“The evolution of the zeitgeist, the mood of the people, is that they don’t want to see that anymore. What they want to see are animals in natural environments, so Dr [John] Wamsley was well ahead of the curve with Warrawong in creating that,” David Cobbold told Jennie Lenman.
Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane is the latest to change practices, recently issuing a statement confirming that, from the start of this month, guests will no longer be able to hold the koalas, in a bid to “address increasing public demand” for “more immersive and educational experiences”.
