Koala sightings

Anyone who sees a koala in the wild on Eyre Peninsula is being encouraged to record it to contribute to the Natural Resources Eyre Peninsula latest citizen science project, EP Koalas.

Koala sighting information will be used to understand more about the way koalas are spreading across southern Eyre Peninsula. Landscape Biologist Dr Greg Kerr said koalas were being seen as far away as Charlton Gully and Wanilla, but no scientific data had yet been collected.

“The koalas on Eyre Peninsula are descendants of six koalas that where originally introduced in a small area of rough-barked manna gum woodlands on southern Eyre Peninsula in 1969,” Dr Kerr said.

“These eucalypts are one of the koala’s favourite foods. Since then they have dispersed across southern Eyre Peninsula feeding on a broad range of less favourite tree species.

“We are interested in finding out the types of habitats they are have reached and are now surviving in.”

If you spot a koala on Eyre Peninsula, visit www.epkoalas.com.au to answer a few questions such as where you saw it and the sort of tree it was in, and if possible, upload a photo.

For more information on the biology of koalas and the habitat they occupy on Eyre Peninsula visit: www.landscape.sa.gov.au/ep/get-involved