Emily Chan
If you want to see wild koalas, Australia is the only place you can go to see them in action. Australia’s French Island, located 42 miles away from Melbourne, is home to the second-largest koala population in the whole country.
With an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 individuals, the koalas greatly outnumber the human inhabitants on the island, of which there are only 110.
The island has no electricity, water supply, paved roads, police, medical services, or garbage collection services—everything that we take for granted in our daily lives.
Yet, the islanders have no interest in incorporating any of these systems into their territory. In the end, it’s probably better for the well-being of all the creatures on the island, including the koalas.
Every year, thousands of tourists visit French Island, arriving by boat ferry. There, they can bear witness to the 230 bird species, around 600 plant species, and the tree-climbing koalas that inhabit two-thirds of the island.
How did koalas get on the island, anyway? So, the species actually isn’t meant to live on islands. They were introduced to French Island in the 1890s. A fisherman brought three young koalas over for his girlfriend. During the 19th century, koalas were hunted for their fur and meat, causing their numbers to drop significantly.
That’s when the government started a breeding program on the mainland to save them. Some koalas were brought to French Island, and others were taken across the way to Philip Island. To everyone’s surprise, the population on French Island would double every three to four years.
In many parts of Australia, koalas are currently considered an endangered species. Although they’re no longer being hunted, koalas are still at risk. The iconic marsupials are dying from chlamydia, a disease that occurs naturally in koalas. It helps them self-regulate their population.
However, other threats, such as collisions with cars, dog attacks, habitat loss, and deforestation, are furthering the species’ decline.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
