A koala has been photographed close to homes in Belrose
It’s thought there are just a few koalas left on Sydney’s northern beaches, but one has been spotted near houses at Belrose.
Manly
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A rare sighting of a wild koala has been made on the northern beaches.
The mature marsupial was spotted clinging to a large gum tree close to homes at Belrose on Friday.
A woman, who works near the undisclosed location, took photographs of the well-fed koala and passed them on to Matt Kemp, a volunteer from the wildlife rescue group WIRES.
Koalas are currently listed as ‘vulnerable” by the State Government and at “high risk
of extinction in the medium term”.
The pictures of the animal show it climbing up the trunk of the eucalypt and then perching in the higher branches.
After the pictures were posted on Facebook, where a resident wrote that a koala was also seen climbing a tree close to the edge of the Wakehurst Pkwy on Boxing Day.
Another residents wrote that her husband thought he recently saw a koala in bushland at Manly Dam”.
But experts suggest there are few koalas left on the northern beaches.
The sighting comes after ecologists estimated that as many as 8000 koalas perished in NSW during the summer bushfire emergency and that the marsupials are moving away from their habitats in search of water and feed.
On its website WIRES said there is an “endangered” koala population around Pittwater.
The Australian Koala Foundation said on its website that there had been “four recorded sightings in the last 10 years just north of Terry Hills”.
“Anecdotal reports suggest some koalas are in the east of the (Ku-ring-gai Chase National) Park next to Pittwater,” the Foundation said. “Most interestingly, there was a sighting at Clareville in 2006, probably one of the remaining Pittwater Koala population which was listed as Endangered in 1998”.
Northern Beaches Council, on its website, said koalas thrived along the northern beaches until the 1970s.
“These days it’s unlikely you will find koalas in the wild,” the Council said. “Threats to koala colonies are loss of habitat, attacks by dogs, chlamydia disease and road casualties.”
Mr Kemp said WIRES was excited about the sighting at Belrose but would not reveal the location, in keeping with National Parks and Wildlife Service policy.
“The photographs suggest the koala is a mature adult and is well fed,” he said.
“It’s an exciting time for us at WIRES to learn that there are in fact koalas still living among us.
“But we have to be careful to make sure we reduce the potential threats against them by keeping dogs on leashes and cats inside.
“We would also ask drivers to be mindful and slow down for wildlife particularly on Wakehurst Parkway, Mona Vale Rd and Forest Way.
* If you find a sick, injured or orphaned koala please call WIRES Rescue Line: 1300 094 737