There's some good news when it comes to boosting Australia’s declining koala population. The first ever wild koala breeding program has now produced its first joeys. They're being raised in natural habitat with minimal human contact to give them the best chance of surviving in the wild.
00:00Up in the forests of the New South Wales mid-north coast, conservationists are playing matchmaker.
00:07At the moment we have eight boys and ten girls in our breeding program.
00:12They're pairing up koalas at this wild breeding centre.
00:16They're very forested, so access to full height koala food trees.
00:21This provides them with really natural mating opportunities,
00:24which I think is one of the reasons we're seeing success so far with our breeding program,
00:28is that it's all very hands off.
00:31That means monitoring from a distance through binoculars and special night vision cameras.
00:36But there are some controls.
00:39Dr Farquharson analyzes DNA for similarities to make sure they're not pairing up closely related animals
00:46while maximising genetic diversity in the local population.
00:50Koalas are endangered in New South Wales and are predicted to become extinct by 2050 without drastic action.
00:57The conservation breeding program is a pretty drastic action.
01:00We've had 100% success with our very first breeding season, which is really exciting.
01:06Six joeys have been born so far this season and follows the success of wild breeding programs for other species like the western quoll.
01:16Just last year, in 2024, we reintroduced the western quoll, also known as the Tewditch, back into New South Wales after it had been absent for at least 100 years.
01:25Koala Conservation Australia works closely with Taronga, researching where populations are in decline while trying to understand the reasons why.
01:34Conservation breeding programs like this one are a game changer for struggling species that are at the brink of extinction.
01:40This is Gulbar stone. He's in preparations for this season already.
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