Koalas sighted around Cedar Brush Creek in Yarramalong
Koalas are thought to be close to extinction on the Central Coast but recent pictures have emerged sparking new hope there might be a colony of our furry friends in Yarramalong.
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Rare koala sightings are being reported around Cedar Brush Creek in Yarramalong.
Yarramalong resident Mark Davis has captured images of koalas at his Yarramalong property as recently as October 2019.
Australian Reptile Park general manager Tim Faulkner has heard similar reports of koalas being present close by at Cedar Creek Wombat Rescue.
“The owner Ros said when they moved out there they had koalas on the property and a colony of them next door,” he said.
“A few days ago she told me when the fires were coming, koalas were coming from the west of there. They are up there in that sort of area and are coming from as far as Yengo National Park, I have seen them myself.
“If they are coming back through, sadly they would have been pushed out by the fires at Yengo and Wollemi. Someone needs to keep a close eye on them. They are so sparse and there are so little numbers.”
Central Coast environmentalist Jake Cassar said he had heard from Yarramalong locals that there had been many sightings over the past few years.
Yarramalong resident and environmental writer Libby Keating said koalas had been in and around Yarramalong since 2012/13.
“They have been here for a long time, they are in the high regions of the valley in the Cedar Brush Creek area,” she said.
“People who are seeing them are on properties remote from the roads.”
Koalas have been thought to be extinct for decades on the Central Coast, however there have been a reported sightings in Mogo Creek and one in Rumbulara Reserve in Gosford.
In 2017, two koalas were captured on night-vision cameras in Dharug National Park. The park has since been decimated by the recent Three Mile bushfire which covers 45,944 hectares.
The recent images from Yarramalong have prompted Mr Cassar, the founding member of Coast Environmental Alliance (CEA), to continue calls for an urgent halt to the Wallarah 2 Coal Mine which is set to be built under the Yarramalong and Dooralong valleys.
“The discovery of a koala population so close to the proposed mine is not only a significant development, but should be considered a game changer,” he said.
Mr Cassar said “where there’s one koala, there is more”.
“Our group has photographic evidence of koalas at Mangrove Mountain, the Watagan State Forest and even in Gosford,” he said.
“The area around the proposed mine site obviously has the exact Eucalyptus trees these koalas rely on for their daily sustenance. The area proposed to be mined may be one of the last bastions that can sustain this colony and it needs to be urgently protected before the mining company gets in and starts bulldozing.
“CEA are calling on our local, state and federal representatives and environmental advocacy groups to urgently contact Environment Minister Sussan Ley to see that our local koala populations are not only destined to survive, but to thrive well into the future.
“Hopefully our elected leaders will listen before these little Aussie battlers are lost to our children.”