KOALA NEWS & SCIENCE
An informative monthly newsletter about successes & important announcements in koala conservation, and the latest scientific publications about koalas.
April 2025
Subscribe here: https://mailchi.mp/808fc4af1ee0/koala-news-science
On Saturday 3 May, as Australians vote (if they haven’t already) we will observe Wild Koala Day. We hope that the increased focus on koalas in recent weeks will be uppermost in the minds of Australians as they vote. As has been true since the first Wild Koala Day nine years ago, there is only a little to celebrate, and much to fear for many of us, but we can hope that big, positive changes come with this election.
Get involved with Wild Koala Day – every event, every petition, every letter, every new advocate counts.
Here’s a Wild Koala Day song from Koala Dave Wildlife Education to brighten your day! https://www.facebook.com/share/v/19H8FD1Wne/
Events for Wild Koala Day on May 3!
1 May Geelong VIC: Koala Clancy Foundation Koala Nose Identification webinar
3 May Appin NSW: Greater Sydney Landcare Plant Trees for Koalas on Wild Koala Day!
3 May Tweed Valley NSW: Tweed Valley Wildlife Carers Report koala sightings for Wild Koala Day.
3 May Port Macquarie NSW: Koala Hospital Port Macquarie Wild Koala Open Day
3 May Tuckurimba NSW: Koala Gardens Wild Koala Day competition.
3 May You Yangs VIC: Koala Clancy Foundation Weeding on Wild Koala Day
3 May Shoreham VIC: Mornington Peninsula Koala Conservation Tree Planting (postponed)
3 May Mt Gravatt QLD: Queensland Koala Society Wild Koala Day tours
4 May Shoreham VIC: Mornington Peninsula Koala Conservation Tree Planting (postponed)
4 May Old Petrie Town QLD: Pine Rivers Koala Care Wild Koala Day
10 May Goolmangar NSW: Bangalow Koalas Tree Planting
Petition calls for inquiry into koala crisis in SW VIC
Aerial shooting, plantation harvesting and government inaction have led to a wildlife disaster in southwest Victoria that will only get worse.
https://action.ifaw.org/page/170279/action/1
New koala and wildlife hospital opened 5 April QLD
Fauna Rescue Whitsundays opened their new koala and wildlife rehabilitation facility at Mt Jukes, north of Mackay.
https://whitsundaynews.net.au/grand-opening-koala-and-wildlife-rehabilitation-facility/
A parliamentary inquiry into wildlife road strike in Victoria
Submissions open until 30 May 2025.
https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/get-involved/inquiries/WildlifeRoadstrike/submissions
..
Latest Koala Science
..
Johnston, S., 2025. Koala reproduction and the implications for human research. F&S Reports, 6, pp.13-18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xfre.2024.12.006
Wildlife species demonstrate a broad diversity of reproductive strategies that have allowed them to adapt and survive in their specific environments. The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) is an iconic endangered Australian arboreal marsupial that demonstrates a unique form of mammalian reproduction but which on closer evaluation may provide fresh insight into our understanding of human reproduction and reproductive disease.
..
Teh, A., Crisman, R., Dwars, E., Malik, R., de Miranda, L.H., Meyer, W. and Krockenberger, M., 2025. Cryptococcal meningitis due to Cryptococcus neoformans VNI in a koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) with progressive neurological disease. Australian veterinary journal. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40263942/
Nearly all cases of cryptococcosis in koalas are caused by Cryptococcus gattii species complex. A rare case of meningitis due to Cryptococcus neoformans VNI/AFLP1 (abbreviated VNI) is described in a koala with nasal colonisation by both species complexes. An eight-year-old koala in a wildlife park presented for seizures and returned a positive latex cryptococcal antigen agglutination test. The koala was euthanased due to the severity of disease, and a post-mortem computed tomography study showed mild mucosal thickening of the right nasal turbinates. The necropsy also showed slightly turbid cisternal cerebrospinal fluid and meningeal opacity. Histology revealed severe granulomatous cryptococcal meningitis and paucireactive right cryptococcal rhinitis. Fungal cultures yielded heavy pure growths of C. neoformans from the brain and spinal cord, and comparable heavy growths of both C. neoformans and C. gattii from the nasal cavity. Cryptococcus species complexes were identified by mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF) and multi-locus sequence typing (MLST). The C. neoformans isolates from the brain, spinal cord and nasal cavity were identical by MLST and classified as sequencing type (ST) 23 and molecular type (MT) VNI. The C. gattii isolates were classified as ST 51 and AFLP4/VGI (abbreviated VGI). This suggests that the meningitis developed as an extension of C. neoformans VNI from nasal cavity colonisation. This is the second documented case of central nervous system (CNS) cryptococcosis due to C. neoformans species complex in a koala and the first in Australia. Despite heavy nasal colonisation by C. gattii, only the C. neoformans isolate progressed to meningitis.
..
Zheng, L. and Legione, A.R., 2025. A high frequency of detection of koala retrovirus fragments in Victorian koalas suggests historic integration of KoRV. Journal of General Virology, 106(4), p.002097. https://doi.org/10.1099/jgv.0.002097
Recombinant koala retrovirus (recKoRV) is a recently discovered variant of koala retrovirus (KoRV), which likely emerged due to recombination with another retrovirus (such as Phascolarctos endogenous retrovirus). KoRV spread and endogenization in Australia were thought to be ongoing in a north to south direction given the low prevalence of the virus in southern koala populations, based on molecular detection of the pol gene. However, recKoRV has highlighted that fragments of KoRV with the pol region missing are present within southern koalas. In this study, a new 5′-region-based KoRV PCR assay was developed, capable of detecting both intact KoRV and all known variants of recKoRV. Using this assay, 319 archived DNA samples from 287 Victorian koalas were retested to investigate KoRV endogenization. We found 98.3% (282/287) of these samples were positive for the KoRV-5′ fragment, the majority of which were KoRV-pol negative (222/287) on prior testing. Our findings demonstrate extensive KoRV integration into the Victorian koala populations, suggestive of a historic presence of KoRV in Victorian koalas. This finding makes biological sense relative to the translocation history of Victorian koalas, compared to the prior paradigm of low virus prevalence, and provides new epidemiological and practical management implications.
..
Previous Koala News & Science here: https://www.wildkoaladay.com.au/koala-news-science/koala-news-science-march-2025/
Written by Janine Duffy President, Koala Clancy Foundation.
with support from Cheryl Egan, Organiser, Wild Koala Day.
Please send your positive, important news & publications to president@koalaclancyfoundation.org.au before 29th of each month for possible inclusion.