Unbearable: Koala and kangaroo harassment chasing wildlife away

On a warm summer morning about a year ago, Jules Lin watched in dismay as a tourist began climbing a tree in the tiny coastal hamlet of Kennett River, apparently attempting to rouse a sleeping koala for a photo.

After she urged the man to leave the animal alone, he descended the tree – before throwing a handful of gravel at the koala.

“I could see the animal had gravel dripping out of its ear, and gravel matted to its fur,” Lin said.

Throngs of tourists at Kennett River. Credit: Joe Armao

Lin, who lives part-time in Kennett River, said this example of wildlife harassment was not an isolated incident. Every day hordes of visitors arrive at the hamlet on the Great Ocean Road hoping for a close encounter with native wildlife.

Over a 12-month period, residents recorded 104 “visitor impacts”. Three-quarters of those incidents were wildlife welfare-related, including instances of people climbing trees and shaking branches to wake koalas, feeding foods like broccoli to kangaroos, cornering joeys in fences to get a closer look and spotlighting animals at night. Visitors have also wandered onto private property looking for wildlife.

Lin said on some days in peak season up to 2400 people arrived at Kennett River to get a photo of wildlife or feed native birds.

She said some visitors – both international tourists and Australians – showed a worrying disrespect for wildlife, sometimes disturbing animals to get a better photo.

Kennett River residents Elenore Lannigan (second from right) and Jules Lin amid the tourists. Credit: Joe Armao

Social media has helped direct the throngs to Kennett River. Last year the community successfully requested Google remove a pin identifying wildlife habitat.

“Someone had pinned ‘koala sleeping tree’. Thousands of people went to that one tree, that one animal,” Lin said.

Lin is a founding member of the Kennett Community Action Group, which has created an education campaign urging visitors not to harass or feed the wildlife.

They commissioned an advertising agency to produce signs, posters, postcards, online and audio information promoting responsible and safe interactions with native animals. Some key messages include maintaining a safe distance from wildlife as well as refraining from touching the animals and not feeding them.

“Our aim is to encourage responsible tourism that results in a better visitor experience,” Lin said. “This will not be a silver bullet. But it’s a positive thing that we could take ownership of because the reality is, the animals are moving on.”

A koala in a tree at Kennett River.Credit: Joe Armao

Kennett River was struggling to cope with the relentless stream of tourists arriving in buses and vans throughout the year, she said. The 2021 census showed Kennett River was home to just 74 people but had 164 private dwellings, many of which might be holiday homes.

Kennett Community Action Group president Elenore Lannigan said she noticed there were fewer koalas after the streams of tourists arrived.

Artwork commissioned by the Kennett Community Action Group to encourage responsible and safe interactions with wildlife.Credit:

“We’ve spoken to a number of visitors saying, ‘Where are the koalas?’ And we’ve had to explain that there has been a decline,” she said.

Lannigan said kangaroo behaviour also appeared to be changing, which included making more clucking sounds, because of the persistent crowds.

“They would be moving away from the tourists and coming onto our properties more. Then the clucking started to happen, and now they’re not here at all.”

Melbourne University native mammal behaviour expert Graeme Coulson said people should keep their distance from indigenous animals wherever possible.

Tourists at Kennett River.Credit: Joe Armao

Coulson said kangaroos clucking or growling could be signalling they were about to attack. He said male kangaroos also clucked when they were courting females.

“Getting between a courting male and a receptive female is dangerous indeed,” he said.

Coulson said wild kangaroos that relied on tourists for food could become aggressive. He also warned against feeding birds, saying it could result in people being scratched or pecked. Feeding birds could also artificially increase bird numbers, which raised the chances of diseases spreading.

Coulson said government agencies needed to control access and visitor numbers at places popular with tourists for the wildlife, including Kennett River.

One of the remaining koalas at Kennett River. Credit: Joe Armao

“It needs staff being there advising what’s appropriate and what’s not,” he said.

Great Ocean Road Regional Tourism industry development manager Jo Birley said her agency no longer promoted Kennett River as a place to see wildlife.

“It’s important to us that our user economy doesn’t negatively impact communities or the environment,” she said. “Visit a zoo or wildlife sanctuary if you want to have a guaranteed wildlife encounter.”

Artwork part of the education campaign at Kennett River.

Great Ocean Coast and Parks Authority chief executive Jodie Sizer said residents’ concerns were being taken seriously. She said the authority was working with the community to remove weeds, install fencing and revegetate riparian areas of Kennett River to provide more habitat for wildlife.

She said the authority erected additional signage and trialled temporary fencing along the river in the September school holidays to encourage more people to stop and read the signs.

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