VIC Koala Management Strategy - Department of Sustainability and ...

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Determination of numbers to be translocatedTranslocation programs should aim to reduce populationdensities to below one koala per hectare. However, thenumber removed will be dependent on the resources available,the ease of capture, and availability of adequate release sites.Translocation programs should be combined with fertilitycontrol in the source population to maintain the populationdensity below one koala/ha, or as advised by the KoalaTechnical Advisory Committee. In small isolated habitatpatches, such as islands, consideration should be given to thecomplete removal of Koalas; otherwise a commitment must bemade to long-term, and expensive, population management.Selection of individuals to translocateExperience over the past 80 years has shown that Koalas ofmost age classes and both sexes can be translocated withoutproblems. Therefore, the only individuals that should not betargeted are obviously aged or sick animals. There is extensiveexperience to show that both pouch young and back youngsurvive translocation well, providing animals are not undulystressed and the young are not separated from their motherat any stage.Koalas have a solitary social structure (Mitchell 1991, Martinand Handasyde 1999) and there is no evidence thatmaintenance of social groupings, apart frommother/dependent young pairs, is necessary duringtranslocation programs. Groups released at a given site shouldcomprise roughly equal numbers of each sex (the natural sexratio is 1 : 1.2 ).Capture protocolsSafe handling of Koalas requires experience and strength andshould not be attempted by inexperienced persons. At leastone member of each catching team should be an experiencedKoala catcher and the other members should have receivedhands-on training in Koala capture techniques.The current recommended technique is the noose and flagtechnique. However, advances in darting technology, and theuse of tranquillising drugs, may provide a less stressfulalternative in the near future. The noose and flag techniqueinvolves two long, extendable poles of aluminium or fibreglass.One pole carries a rope noose with a knot or pin to set aminimum diameter for the noose. The trailing end of the ropepasses back along the pole to the operator. This pole is usedto place the noose over the head and, preferably, one shoulderof the Koala, after which the pole is removed. The other polehas a coloured flag on the end. The flag is positioned abovethe Koala’s head, causing the animal to back down the treeaway from the flag. When the Koala is within reach of thesecond pole the noose can be positioned while the flagdistracts the Koala. The animal can then be coaxed to lowerlevels in the tree by flagging and appropriate tension on therope. The rope can be used to discourage the Koala fromascending the tree. Lowering the Koala by the rope around itsneck should be avoided, but there is no evidence that it isharmful to the animal.Capture is more efficient and less stressful if a trained treeclimber is used to noose the animal with minimal use of flags.Climbing should only be undertaken by trained personnelusing approved climbing equipment and methods. If capturecannot be effected within 30 minutes efforts to capture thatindividual should be abandoned.Once the Koala has been brought to the ground it can begrasped firmly by the fur and skin of the nape and rump andforced into a curled position, preferably with its chest on theground so that the forelimbs and hindlimbs, with theirextremely sharp claws, cannot move freely. Koalas should notbe pulled off the tree trunk because their claws may beembedded in the bark and there is a danger that they will beinadvertently pulled out. The captured animal can then beplaced in a good quality jute sack, or straight into thetransport crate. Koalas should not be held in a sack for morethan 30 minutes, less in hot weather, and sacks and cratesshould be kept in the shade.Transport protocolsKoalas are transported singly (except for mothers and theirdependent young) in slatted wooden crates (420 x 470 x 580mm). Crates are transported by tray truck or trailer, and can bestacked two deep as long as air circulation to all crates isassured. A shield from excessive wind, in the form of atarpaulin, should be provided, as should fresh eucalypt leavesfrom the favoured species at the capture site. Koalas shouldnot remain in crates for longer than 24 hours but can be heldovernight in a protected environment when provided withfresh moist eucalypt foliage from the appropriate species.Vehicles should be driven in a manner that minimises bounceand sway in the load.Release protocolsAt the release site crates should be carried into the forest awayfrom the road, laid on their side with the lid propped openand left so that the Koala can leave in its own time. Koalasneed time to recover from the exigencies of the trip, assess thesurroundings, and make a decision about which tree to climb.Whenever possible, large, smooth-barked and straight-trunkedeucalypts should be avoided because they are more difficultfor a Koala to climb when stiff and stressed from thetranslocation. Crates should be placed several metres from thebase of a tree so that the Koala has to exercise its limbs beforestarting to climb. This assists the animal to recover from anystiffness due to being confined in the crate for an extendedperiod. Crates should not be placed too close together toavoid having more than one Koala climb the same tree. Timeof day is probably not critical because Koalas can be active dayor night. However, releases during hot weather should avoidthe hottest time of day.24
Selection of release sitesThere is a need for centralised coordination and a centraliseddatabase of release sites to avoid too frequent releases at agiven site. Records of releases are stored as Project 105 on thedatabase of the Atlas of Victorian Wildlife and managed byDSE’s Flora and Fauna Information Management Section. Thisdatabase should be examined as part of the selection processfor release sites.Appendix 3 presents a decision tree to guide the site selectionprocess. The statewide assessment of Koala habitat (Centre forEnvironmental Management 2001) provides the first level ofdiscrimination of potential Koala habitat suitability for sites onCrown Land. Areas identified as optimal or suitable habitat areavailable for selection. However, selection of actual releasesites within a forested area requires a site assessment by DSEor PV staff expert in identification of eucalypt species. Theapproval of the land management agency must be obtainedearly in the planning process. If the site is in an area subject totimber harvesting or controlled burning, it is essential toconfirm that neither activity is planned within 3 years of therelease.Several restrictions apply to selection of release sites:• All sites must be below 700 m altitude.• The Reference Area Advisory Committee has asked thatno releases take place within Reference Areas.• In order to protect remnants of the original gene pool inSouth Gippsland, a release exclusion area has beendeclared south of the Princess Highway between 146 and147 degrees of longitude.• Koalas sourced from outside the range of the Paralysis TickIxodes holocyclus should not be released within the rangeof the Paralysis Tick - because the ticks can cause mortalityin naive animals. For the purposes of these protocols, thedistribution of the Paralysis Tick is assumed to extendeastwards from the Timbarra River and south of 37° 20’ S.• Release sites should be at least 1 km from a majorroad or railway.For release of fertile Koalas, release sites should be containedwithin a forested area at least 1000 ha in extent, have treedlinks to other forested areas, and contain several eucalyptspecies including at least two of the eucalypt species listed inTable 1. Pure stands of Manna Gum must be avoidedcompletely because they are highly prone to lead to furtherover-browsing problems.Determination of numbers and age/sexcombinations to be released at a siteThe number of Koalas to be released in a given area of forestwill depend on the extent and quality of the habitat itcontains, and on the fertility status of the animals. For fertileanimals no more than one Koala per 20 ha of suitable habitatshould be placed into a forest area. For infertile animals oneper 2 ha should be an upper limit. Within a forest area thereshould be multiple release sites, with no more than 20individuals released at a site, rather than releasing a largenumber of animals at one site. Sites should be at least 500 mapart. A few hours after release Koalas begin makingexploratory movements through the surrounding forest. Someindividuals make very long movements while others mayremain close to the release site. Thus, the Koalas are quitecapable of locating the best available habitat within range.The sex ratio of the released group should be close to thenatural value, which is 1 : 1.2 . A spread of age classesshould also be included.Post-release monitoringBecause released Koalas can travel widely after release,monitoring their fate is difficult, time consuming, expensive,and rarely informative unless radio-tracking is used. The levelof mortality associated with translocations is not known indetail. Those studies that have been conducted (Lee, et al.1991, Santamaria 2002, Parks Victoria 2003), indicate widelyvarying success. However, the success of the re-introductionprogram overall indicates that many translocated Koalassurvive and breed after release.Due to cost factors, detailed post-release monitoring is notconsidered to be necessary for every translocation event.Instead, trees surrounding the release site should be searchedthe day after release and 7-14 days after release, to check thatno undue levels of mortality are occurring. During the firstsearch, note should be taken of the behaviour of any Koalasfound, especially of feeding observations. Koalas sitting onthe ground should be recaptured and taken to a veterinarianexperienced in marsupial health for assessment. It is quitelikely that few or no Koalas will be found during the latersearches.Prior to a translocation, Wildlife Shelter operators in thevicinity of the release sites should be informed of the timetableso that they can make preparations to accommodate anydebilitated animals.Female Koalas that have been permanently sterilised can bereleased into areas as small as 50 ha. A similar number ofmales should be released, with or without sterilisation.Sites on freehold land that meet the above criteria areavailable for selection if the landholder is keen to have Koalasreleased on the property and is willing to enter into a WildlifeCooperative Management Agreement. However, because longtermsecurity of habitat cannot be guaranteed, sites on publicland are preferable, and sites within the conservation reservesystem are best.25
Page 1: Victoria’skoalamanagement strateg
Page 4 and 5: Published by the Victorian Governme
Page 6 and 7: IntroductionThe Need for a KoalaMan
Page 8: Policy FrameworkThis strategy is in
Page 11 and 12: In addition to protection ofexistin
Page 13 and 14: Koalas ready for release at a re-in
Page 15 and 16: 6. All translocation programs shoul
Page 17 and 18: Issue 9. Managing Sick andInjured K
Page 19 and 20: To manage Koala populationsizes in
Page 21 and 22: Issue 6: Understandingpopulation de
Page 23 and 24: ReferencesANZECC. 1998. National Ko
Page 25: AppendicesAPPENDIX 1.TREE SPECIES K
Page 29 and 30: APPENDIX 3.DECISION TREE FOR SELECT
Page 32: www.dse.vic.gov.au

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