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Dogs and Cars are no good for urban koalas.


Stashed in: Dogs!, Australia!

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I had no idea urban koalas are endangered:

Urban koalas become particularly vulnerable to dogs and cars when moving on the ground between trees and during mating season, when males disperse over many miles. Wildlife rescue teams, like the one de Villiers works with, stay particularly busy during breeding season, when wildlife hospitals see triple the number of koalas. Unfortunately, injured koalas face bleak prospects. "The statistics are the same for dog attacks and cars," says de Villiers. "Around 80 percent die."

Only about 100,000 to 300,000 koalas remain in Queensland, a mere relic of their past millions. Southeast Queensland, which has always claimed the highest koala density, faces intense habitat destruction with the expansion of Brisbane, Australia's fastest-growing city. In 2004, the government designated koalas "vulnerable to extinction" in the Southeast Queensland Bioregion.

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