The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) is the only extant member of the Family Phascolarctidae.
Under current IUCN red listing the koala is classified as ‘endangered’ (IUCN 2015). The conservation status of the koala differs significantly by State. As recently as 2022 koalas were listed as ‘endangered’ in the ACT, NSW and Qld (Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment 2022), while populations in Vic.
and SA remain abundant. The uplisting of koalas in the ACT, NSW and Qld was largely driven by the devastating impact of the 2019 bushfires, associated habitat loss and ongoing impact of disease. Current threats to koalas include: habitat destruction, fragmentation and modification (making them vulnerable to predation by dogs and vehicle strikes) (Dissanayake et al. 2023); bushfires (Lane et al. 2023); drought; and disease. Disease, more so than in many other Australian native mammal species, poses a significant threat (Carver 2016; Rhodes et al. 2011). A national disease risk assessment was undertaken to evaluate the greatest disease risks to koalas nationally and identify risk mitigation strategies (Vitali et al. 2023a, 2023b). Additionally, climate change is predicted to have severe consequences for koala populations (Adams-Hosking et al. 2011).This chapter, complemented by several other chapters and appendices within this volume, presents advances in koala medicine since the publication of the first edition of Medicine of Australian Mammals. Significant advances have been made in the understanding of koala retrovirus (KoRV) infection and chlamydiosis in koalas and are covered in Chapters 34 and 35. Veterinary management of free-ranging koala populations is covered in Chapter 36. The medicine and pathology of the koala is also covered comprehensively in Blanshard and Bodley (2008), Ladds (2009) and Vogelnest and Allan (2015); this chapter should be read alongside those texts.
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- The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) is the only extant member of the Family Phascolarctidae.
- Vogelnest L., Portas T. (Eds.). Current Therapy in Medicine of Australian Mammals. CSIRO,2025. — 848 p., 2025