Recently, management strategies were proposed (W. In Queensland, the clearing of koala habitats in rural inland areas is mainly associated with the expansion of cattle grazing from the beef industry, leading to large areas where koala habitats and livestock grazing overlap. Habitat loss and fragmentation are considered to be major threats to koala survival, as are disease (especially chlamydiosis), dog predation and attack, vehicle strike, climate change and bush fires. However, in February 2022, the federal conservation status of koalas was downgraded to “Endangered” in Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. In 2012, the koala was listed as “Vulnerable to extinction” in Queensland and also by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List in 2016. Despite this, there is an ongoing decline of koala populations. The results provide experimental evidence that negative koala–livestock interactions occur and indicate that cattle and koalas may see each other as a disturbance.Īs an iconic Australian species, the koala ( Phascolarctos cinereus) has received considerable attention from both the general public and scientists over the past century. No actual attacks by the cattle were observed. The koala model elicited aggression and fear in cattle, similar to the dog model, whereas their reaction to the vehicle was significantly less aggressive.
In the second experiment, we recorded the reactions of cattle towards koalas that they encountered on the ground, using motorised animal models: a model koala mounted on a remote-controlled vehicle and a model dog mounted on the same vehicle, and the vehicle alone. Koalas decreased their distance travelled and the size of their home range when they shared space with cattle, compared with the period before cattle started grazing within their home range. In the first experiment, we recorded the ranging behaviour of free-ranging, radio-collared koalas prior to, during and after cattle grazed within their usual home range. We investigated the significance of cattle as a threat to koala survival via two koala–cattle interaction experiments, from both the koala and cattle perspectives. Recently, concerns were raised in anecdotal reports of koalas being killed by livestock, especially cattle. Koalas are facing many threats and have now been officially listed as endangered. The results provide confirmatory evidence of negative koala–cattle interactions and indicate that cattle and koalas may see each other as a disturbance. The koala and dog models elicited similar aggression and fear in cattle, both significantly more than the vehicle alone did. In the second experiment, we recorded the cattle reactions to a moving koala model on a vehicle, a dog model on the same vehicle and the vehicle alone. Koalas showed decreased moving distance and home range size when cattle grazed in their living environment. In the first experiment, we recorded the behaviour of free-ranging koalas prior to, during and after cattle grazing within the koalas’ home ranges.
We investigated the significance of cattle being a threat to koalas in two experiments testing how koalas and cattle perceive and react to each other when sharing space. In the last decade, livestock were suspected to be a new potential threat to koalas, with anecdotal evidence of koalas being trampled to death by livestock, especially cattle. As an iconic Australian animal, effective conservation is critical to reverse the decline, which requires a comprehensive understanding of threats to koalas, such as predation, disease and habitat loss. Koalas have been listed as endangered because of their rapidly declining populations.
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