<
https://theconversation.com/we-once-killed-600-000-koalas-in-a-year-now-theyre-australias-teddy-bears-what-changed-219609>
"Koalas are one of the world’s most beloved animal species. They serve as
symbols for everything from bushfire destruction to Australian tourism to
caramel chocolate bars. These tree-dwelling marsupials get far more attention
than many other endangered native species. But Australians haven’t always felt
this way about our seemingly cuddly teddy-bear lookalikes. Far from it.
Almost a century ago, Queensland announced open season on koalas. Over the next
month, well over 600,000 koalas were shot, trapped or poisoned in what has been
dubbed “Black August”.
These numbers seem shocking. That figure is about the same as the total number
of koalas alive today, using the most generous estimate. Today, the koala is
endangered in New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory.
Why did it happen? Back then, koalas were far more plentiful in Queensland. And
there was an established tradition of killing Australian marsupials for their
pelts, which could be sold on the lucrative international fur market. At least
a million koala pelts were sold in the previous 1919 open season.
As attachment to native wildlife has grown and the koala’s numbers have
dwindled, we have come to think very differently about this creature."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
