![Picture](/uploads/1/2/6/2/12622942/published/koala-1.jpeg?1718416052)
Photo: John Cuttriss
By Ed Thexton
WITHOUT doubt the charismatic koala is the linking animal of Gippsland, from Lang Lang in the west to Foster in the east, from Morwell in the north to Inverloch in the south. In this bedraggled region of privatised forests and farmland, koalas remain in tiny areas of indigenous vegetation, HPV Plantations, across farmlands and into the towns.
That the koala has persisted until now is a modern-day miracle. It was all but shot to extinction in the 1920s. With native forests in the Strzelecki Ranges almost completely cleared and the flatter coastal country of the Bass Coast Shire down to just 14 per cent indigenous vegetation cover, it’s a wonder a-tree dependent species is here at all. Who’d have thought clearing it all would have such an effect on the dependent animal species! Just goes to show you good looks will only take you so far.
WITHOUT doubt the charismatic koala is the linking animal of Gippsland, from Lang Lang in the west to Foster in the east, from Morwell in the north to Inverloch in the south. In this bedraggled region of privatised forests and farmland, koalas remain in tiny areas of indigenous vegetation, HPV Plantations, across farmlands and into the towns.
That the koala has persisted until now is a modern-day miracle. It was all but shot to extinction in the 1920s. With native forests in the Strzelecki Ranges almost completely cleared and the flatter coastal country of the Bass Coast Shire down to just 14 per cent indigenous vegetation cover, it’s a wonder a-tree dependent species is here at all. Who’d have thought clearing it all would have such an effect on the dependent animal species! Just goes to show you good looks will only take you so far.