00:01It's about 5am when a drone fitted with thermal imaging spots something in the distance while
00:07searching the canopy from above. When the sun rises a secondary search confirms it is a koala.
00:17Nowadays we rely on the drones, we get up really early in the morning when there's a really good
00:22differential between the cool forest and the koala's heat. It's a far cry from how they
00:27used to find koalas just eight years ago. We would go out spotlighting at night with
00:32torches looking for eyeshine. We would spend the days you know fanned out in a line walking
00:38through the bush tediously looking up. Advancements in technology has been a game
00:44changer for researchers who are addressing population decline at Brisbane koala bushlands at Burbank.
00:50We need to act quickly in terms of removing diseased animals, treating what we can,
00:57and then helping with new genetics and new animals to come in as breeding animals in this population.
01:05But when it comes to catching koalas it's something you can only do the old-fashioned way.
01:10Good work, good work Bill, good work.
01:12Once caught the koala is brought to a mobile vet clinic on site where they're examined and treated.
01:20It definitely has chlamydia in that eye. While any healthy youngsters in need of a new home are fitted
01:26with a GPS collar before being released back into the wild. These new little tags they just transmit
01:33the data straight to the satellites and then back to our phones. This means researchers know immediately if
01:40the koala has stopped moving and can respond quickly if it's sick or injured. With thousands
01:46of hectares of protected land at their disposal let's hope this will become a healthy and abundant
01:51koala population. We're now trying to bring it full circle because we've seen this population crash
01:56and we're hoping that it will climb again.
