Koalas and Interview with Stephen about Koalas
Release Date: Tue, Mar 9th
Synopsis: Dr.Jon has found a disease that is like Aids in Humans it is killing off our Koalas. They need 1.2 million to help in their research over the next three years and hoping they can find a cure. The koalas face so much danger with cars,dogs,urban development and now this. Every little bit will help.Please do your part for our koalas. Our Koalas are in so much danger I am afraid I will be hearing my Grandchildren say, Grandma Whats a Koala ?What did they do? Where did they go? Below is a story that was in the Sunshine Coast Daily in Queensland. News source: Sunshine Coast Daily 23 September 2008 By Amy Remeikis Can you imagine a Queensland without koalas? With the rate the marsupials are disappearing, without help, it`s a Queensland we could discover all too soon. With koala populations in other states not faring any better, those in the know knew it was beyond time for action. Yesterday, the Australian Wildlife Hospital at Australia Zoo, Beerwah, announced it would establish a koala disease research fund with the aim of raising $1.2 million to help research into koala diseases over the next three years. An alarming number of koalas are falling victim to diseases, resulting in a dramatic population decline. Koala chlamydiosis is probably the most well recognised disease of Australian wildlife. It causes blindness, infertility, urinary tract infection and kidney failure, and sometimes pneumonia and flu-like syndromes. However leukaemia, bone marrow failure, cancers and immuno-deficiency syndrome are showing up more and more in koalas presented to the AWH and other wildlife treatment facilities. All these diseases are suspected to be associated with a koala retrovirus infection which has been detected in all koala populations tested to date, both captive and wild, in Queensland. It has been detected in several koala populations sampled in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. Dr Jon Hanger, from the AWH, said the fund had been kick-started by a single donor who pledge $230,000 to the cause. Research into diseases in wildlife is notoriously under funded by the Australian Research Council and other funding bodies, he said. We are now realising how urgently we need to understand these devastating diseases in koalas as we witness their rapid decline towards extinction, the doctor said