Map pinpoints remaining koalas

31 Mar 2011, 5:14 pm   -   Source: AAP
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The foundation believes there are as few as 45,000 koalas left in Australia. (Getty)

The foundation believes there are as few as 45,000 koalas left in Australia. (Getty)

The battle to save Australia's cuddliest emblem has a new, cutting edge weapon, a new online koala map, which grades the quality of potential koala habitat nationwide. 

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The battle to save Australia's cuddliest emblem has a new, cutting edge weapon.

The Australian Koala Foundation has launched a new online koala map, which grades the quality of potential koala habitat nationwide.

The map was developed with mapping experts Esri Australia, whose online maps of Brisbane were used widely during January's floods, and is also helping with the response to the Japanese tsunami.

The foundation's Deborah Tabart said the $8 million map was developed using data from thousands of volunteer hours.

It would allow landowners to upload photos and videos when they spot koalas on their properties, or mark where a proposed road or building project could threaten them.

And it would also give developers and government information about the potential for koalas to be living on land subject to building, Ms Tabart said.

"If people understand and take this on board they could actually save the koala," she told reporters in Brisbane on Thursday.

"We're giving these maps to everyone, the `good guys' and maybe even sort of the `bad guys'.

"I'm hoping that they will see this as a very important planning tool."

The foundation believes there are as few as 45,000 koalas left - largely due to loss of habitat - and Ms Tabart says governments have reason to be "deaf" to the figures.

"I do not believe there is one government in this country that is committed to protecting koalas," she said.

"The koala is in so many places around this nation and it's under greater threat than it ever has been.

"We have coal seam gas, we have coal, we have development, we have roads and I can promise you that those companies make political donations and maps like this get in the way.

"These maps are a powerful tool for the community who normally ring me and ask me ... help us save the koalas."

The koala map is available at http://koalamap.savethekoala.com


 

Koala

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Your Comments

Existing map

alex - from noosa heads, 11 months ago

Thank you Ken, indeed it is a blatant copy. The crowdsourcing koala map I created is now called KoalaTracker, and can be found at www.koalatracker.com.au. You can find the full story of ESRI Australia's copying of this innovative mapping function for the AKF through the emails on the correspondence page (linked via a blog article entitled An Extraordinary Situation). (Edited)

EXISTING MAP

ken - from broadbeach, 1 year

iS this same map has been on koala diaries for a couple of years

koalas

bernicemaskell - from Ulupna Island, 1 year

I Have a shelter on Ulupna Island and have seen a big decline in koala population due to dog kills as they are allowed to run free here .Scabies from foxes has killed a lot and since floods we have lost a lot of young koalas due to bacteria supposedly so we need to try to protect these beautiful animals and first step would be to keep dogs on leads this protects koalas & dogs don't get lost also campers not cutting down trees or placing their fishing rods eskys etc at the base of the trees .

love you

stevie-lee krysian hall - from brisbane, 2 years ago

i hope all koalas are safe. I love koalas

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