State Governments mark National Threatened Species Day with support for endangered koalas and rodents

The Queensland and Victorian Governments are today marking National Threatened Species Day with funding pledges for endangered koalas and breeding and reintroduction programs for the endangered native rodent, the Pookila.

The Queensland Government has pledged $4.2 million in funding to environmental organisation Healthy Land & Water to deliver a range of initiatives to address the threats impacting on koala populations.

Koalas face unprecedented challenges due to habitat loss, disease, climate change, bushfires and attacks by domestic and wild dogs. 

Healthy Land & Water will engage local governments across South East Queensland to deliver koala threat management initiatives over the next three years.

Healthy Land & Water will focus on identified priority threat areas and align with the SEQ Koala Conservation Strategy to reduce the impacts from disease, injury and mortality rates on our koalas. 

Healthy Land & Water Chief Executive Julie McLellan notes “this funding is as vital as it is timely, as it facilitates the expansion and continuation of the ongoing critical efforts to support koala conservation.

“We are excited to continue working from each end of the spectrum – from directly restoring habitat through enabling land managers and the community with the capacity to contribute to koala conservation.”

Meanwhile, in a bid to save the endangered rodent species the Pookila, the Victorian Government is backing a trial to release six females across Wilsons Promontory National Park.

Victorian Minister for Environment Ingrid Stitt announced the project had deployed the native animals in three locations within the park to attract local males and bolster population numbers in Gippsland.

The mice were raised at Melbourne Zoo and Moonlit Sanctuary as part of the Victorian Pookila Conservation Breeding and Reintroduction Program, which has bred more than 60 pups since 2022.

The Pookila is considered extinct in seven of 12 known Victorian locations, with surviving populations increasingly under threat from drought and predation by feral cats and foxes.

Further loss of genetic diversity to these fractured populations will also place the species at an even greater risk of extinction.

Pookila can be distinguished from the common house mouse by their bicoloured tail, large eyes, soft thick fur, and a lack of ‘mousey’ odour.

Through the Government’s Nature Fund, $690,000 has been invested to protect the Pookila species, along with support from Zoos Victoria, Moonlit Sanctuary, the Australasian Zoo and Aquarium Association and members of the National Pookila Recovery Team.

Zoos Victoria Chief Executive Dr Jenny Gray notes “Zoos Victoria’s wildlife conservation work is directly improving the genetic health and resilience of these remaining Pookila populations.”

Parks Victoria Chief Scientist of Conservation and Climate Action Dr Mark Norman adds “Boosting Pookila numbers is an exciting step in delivering the Prom Sanctuary project, which aims to establish Wilsons Promontory as a climate refuge for native species that need our help.”

Moonlit Sanctuary Founder and Director Michael Johnson also shared “Moonlit Sanctuary's involvement in Pookila breeding exemplifies our commitment to safeguarding our planet's remarkable biodiversity."

Image. Koala. Credit: QLD Government; Pookila. Credit: Moonlit Sanctuary