10 minute read
Saving Koalas in Queensland
from Range: Volume 3
by Ensemble
Wildlife rescuers, veterinarians and researchers are working to protect Australia’s now-endangered koalas — and travelers are a big part of the mission.
By Jessica Wynne Lockhart — Photos by David Chatfield
From Steve Irwin Way on the Sunshine Coast , you can’t miss the turnoff to Australia Zoo. A giant cutout of the Crocodile Hunter himself heralds the way and, even midweek, the parking lot overflows with visitors who queue to see the zoo’s crocodile shows or hope to catch a glimpse of its celebrity owners. (Irwin’s wife, Terri, and adult children, Bindi and Robert, are as beloved as their late husband and father.)
I’m not here for either of these sightings, or a snake selfie or the chance to hand-feed wallabies. Instead, I zip past the crowds and head in the opposite direction of the zoo entrance. There, I find a building that’s considerably more modest.
This is the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital, one of the largest of its kind in the world. Walking through the state-of-the-art facility, I meet some of the patients: Margie, a green turtle doing laps in a pool, shows strong signs of recovery after a boat collision. Olaf, a common brushtail possum with mange, is nestled in the nursery. And Grace Jones, a young female koala being treated for multiple illnesses, peers at me sweetly from her perch. She’s just one of the 800 koalas that the hospital helps every year.
South East Queensland is koala central. Stretching from the Gold Coast to the Sunshine Coast, the region of golden beaches, ancient volcanic peaks and lush rainforest is where the very first koala-themed tourist attraction opened in 1927: Brisbane’s Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, which is still in operation today. It was right around this time that koalas ascended to Australian icon status. Today, the cuddly creatures are estimated to generate about AUD$3.2 billion annually and contribute to 30,000 tourism industry jobs.
On my first trip to Australia, in 2006, I hiked through Noosa National Park on the Sunshine Coast’s northern edge. Considered a koala haven, it was easy to spot them clinging to the trees high above. But, in recent years, the koalas have vanished from Noosa. In just a decade, they’ve gone from being a common critter around the country to one facing extinction. Last year, the marsupial was named an endangered species in Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. Once thought to number in the millions, there are now as few as 32,000 koalas remaining in the wild.
Habitat loss is the biggest threat koalas face. It’s a problem that began with colonization — when koalas were hunted for their soft pelts, forests were felled for timber and land was cleared for farms — and persists today. In 2019, more than 90,000 hectares of Queensland’s koala territory was destroyed, primarily for beef production. (Mercifully, South East Queensland was relatively unscathed by the catastrophic bushfires in 2020, which killed an estimated 61,000 koalas elsewhere in the country.)
With gut biomes that are only capable of digesting eucalyptus specific to their region, the koala’s highly specialized diet is one of the reasons habitat loss has such an impact, says Ludovica Valenza, a wildlife veterinarian at the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital. “They’re also hit by cars, attacked by dogs, and life-threatening diseases are devastating their populations.” Pushed into increasingly smaller areas by suburban sprawl, their likelihood of contracting contagious diseases is increasing, while genetic diversity is decreasing.
Koalas are an “umbrella species,” Valenza says — protecting them indirectly safeguards the entire ecosystem. “If a habitat is healthy enough to allow a koala to thrive, then thousands of other species can also live in that same habitat.” It’s why she and countless other wildlife rescuers, veterinarians and researchers are fighting so hard to save koalas — work that’s made possible by tourism operators like Australia Zoo, and the visitors who come to marvel at one of the country’s most beloved creatures.
The opportunity to meet koalas like Grace Jones up close is one of the perks of staying at The Crocodile Hunter Lodge, where a self-guided “sneak peek” of the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital is included with every stay. Just a three-minute drive from the zoo, the property, which opened in 2022, is the Irwin family’s latest and most luxurious endeavor, featuring one- and two-bedroom cabins that carefully balance comfort (freestanding soaker tubs and plush beds) with just the right amount of kitsch (“Crikey!” doormats and framed photos of the Irwins). From the lodge’s infinity pool, guests can watch muscular red kangaroos hop through a paddock and koalas amble up to the treetops, where they munch on eucalyptus leaves.
The lodge — the only property of its kind in the area — was a lifelong dream of Steve Irwin, who wanted to give international visitors an opportunity to be immersed in the native bush overnight, when animals are most active. Home to more than 3,000 native trees and shrubs, the vast grounds have become an important wildlife corridor, replete with nest boxes used by possums and bats. Critically, the lodge is another way Australia Zoo generates profits for its charitable arm, Wildlife Warriors, which funds the wildlife hospital.
Wildlife conservation is also central to the experience at Spicers Hidden Vale, a 12,000-acre luxury retreat about a one hour drive west of Brisbane, where the heritage cottages from the property’s former life as a cattle station have been restored and upgraded to include stone fireplaces, spacious verandas and outdoor bathtubs. The on-site hatted (“hats” being Australia’s answer to Michelin stars) Homage Restaurant also leans into the homesteading origin story, featuring a paddock-to-plate menu that highlights produce from the surrounding Scenic Rim region.
High-end culinary experiences are one of the defining features of the Spicers brand, with nine locations spread along. Australia’s east coast. What sets Hidden Vale apart from its sister properties, however, is its AUD$18.5-million wildlife research facility. Completed in 2017, the Hidden Vale Wildlife Centre is a passion project of Spicers founder, Jude Turner, and her husband, Graham. Set within a 3,100-hectare nature reserve, it’s primarily used by researchers from the University of Queensland. But guests can also take guided tours of the Centre, with proceeds going to its research and rehabilitation programs.
“I want to stress that this isn’t a petting zoo — it’s all for research and conservation,” says Steve “Croc” Turnbull, a former professional crocodile wrangler and herpetologist turned Spicers tour guide and burgeoning TikTok star. Turnbull’s account, @Croc.Tails, is a nonstop stream of bat-eating snakes and close crocodile encounters. Tellingly, his most-watched video is of a koala rescue on the Spicers Hidden Vale property.
Inside the Hidden Vale Wildlife Centre, Turnbull shows me a digital map of the 23 known locations of koalas in its vicinity. They’re monitored closely to help determine how chlamydia — a disease that’s ravaging koala populations, leaving them infertile and blind — is spread. A vaccine for the disease is under development, with koalas from Hidden Vale, the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital and Lone Pine being used to trial its efficacy. On the day of my visit, none of the koalas are on site for health checks. Instead, Turnbull leads me to the second floor to show me one of Australia’s rarest endemic species.
He pops open a nest box and a wide-eyed ball of fluff emerges, with small hand-like paws eager to grab the mealworms Turnbull offers. It’s a mahogany glider, one of fewer than 1,000 left in the world. The nocturnal marsupial is an important pollinator, but it, too, struggles from habitat loss. The Centre aims to change that with its restoration efforts, including its planting, weed management and pest control program. “Through yearly wildlife surveys, we have seen an increase in native species since the program started,” says Turnbull. Much like how the work Australia Zoo is doing to rehabilitate injured animals is supported by tourism, the future of koalas, and the equally adorable mahogany glider, might be a little brighter because of Hidden Vale’s visitors. “We have to have tourism to be able to do the research that we’re doing,” says Turnbull.
From the Centre, we drive into an adjoining field, stopping to admire evidence of 120,000 trees planted as a wildlife corridor and food source for koalas — the regenerating habitat will eventually support hundreds of other species. Hopping out of the truck, I follow Turnbull toward a stand of gum trees. A rednecked wallaby, startled by us, bounds away through the long grass. High above, eucalyptus leaves rustle gently in the breeze.
The koala, when I finally spot it, is an unmoving bump of gray on a branch. Camouflaged by its surroundings, it’s easy to miss a koala even when you’re looking. But now I understand how much will be amiss if they’re gone — luckily, so do all the people fighting to save them.
Come for the Koalas
Here are three more places where you can kip with koalas, all while helping to fund their conservation.
Mapleton Springs
At this small boutique accommodation in the Sunshine Coast Hinterlands, help wildlife caregiver and owner Rachel Aspinall — who works closely with Australia Zoo — feed animals she’s rehabilitating, including sugar gliders, wallabies and koalas. Each of the three contemporary cabins looks out over the surrounding rainforest, an important habitat for native wildlife.
Selina Magnetic Island
A short ferry ride from Townsville, in northeastern Queensland, Magnetic Island is home to one of Australia’s most well-known koala hospitals, popularized by Netflix series Izzy’s Koala World . At the island’s newly opened Selina property, which offers everything from private rooms to glamping tents, treat yourself to breakfast with some local koalas. Over pancakes and coffee, wildlife rangers will introduce you to a few, including Amaroo, a rescue from South East Queensland. Tours of Selina’s on-site wildlife park are also available.
Port Stephens Koala Sanctuary
The fight to save koalas isn’t limited to Queensland: A roughly two-hour drive north of Sydney, in New South Wales, will take you to the Port Stephens Koala Sanctuary. In 2022, it unveiled 20 glamping tents nestled in native bush, home to a dozen resident koalas. Guests can also take a tour of the on-site koala hospital or stroll along an elevated boardwalk, which offers a view into their natural habitat.
