SYDNEY, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- A new study has found that state forests in the northern part of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) designated for logging are vital habitat for endangered koalas.
The study challenged current assumptions that timber plantations lacked conservation value, prompting calls for the reclassification of the surveyed area from plantation to prime koala habitat, according to a statement released Tuesday by Australia's Griffith University.
Researchers and conservation groups combined drone technology, historical mapping, and ground surveys to track koala populations in Tuckers Nob State Forest, southwest of NSW's Coffs Harbor, which is currently zoned as hardwood eucalypt plantation and slated for logging in 2025-2026, it said.
Published in the Switzerland-based Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute journal WILD, the surveys conducted in December 2024, covering 142 hectares, revealed clear signs of koala activity, including scat evidence and thermal drone imagery identifying 25 individual koalas.
"These aren't just plantations; they're home to one of Australia's most iconic and endangered animals," said Rolf Schlagloth, the study's first author from Australia's Central Queensland University and the Koala History & Sustainability Research Cluster.
"We've shown remnants of original forest exist within these zones and are actively used by koalas," he said.
