KOALAS are rapidly vanishing from the Australian bush,and there may be as few as 43,000 left on the mainland, according to the biggest national survey of their populations attempted.
The Australian Koala Foundation said its research showed the furry icons were suffering from urban development and climate change, and that the Federal Government should list the species as vulnerable.
The group, which used data from more than 1000 forest surveys, said the mainland population had fallen to between 43,000 and 80,000. The number of wild koalas in NSW, where they are already listed as vulnerable, could have dropped to as few as 8000, the group said.
