Thermal drone surveys have revealed one of New South Wales' most significant and high-density koala colonies, living in bushland around a water supply dam on the Mid North Coast. The findings have surprised and delighted ecologists, who are now working to understand what makes the site so special and collaborating with locals to protect this iconic and endangered species.
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00:00High up in the trees, just outside Taree, there's an encouraging sight.
00:09Koalas at rest, and plenty of them.
00:13Thermal drone and song meter surveys have revealed about 60 koalas are living around
00:18the Butuwa border supply dam.
00:21Some of them even have joeys.
00:23It equates to about one koala for every two and a half hectares.
00:28That's about seven times the LGA's average density.
00:32We've actually found one of the state's highest density koala populations here.
00:37We've always known anecdotally that it was high, but we just had no idea that it reached
00:42this level.
00:43Koalas in New South Wales are suffering decline and their population is reducing.
00:49They're a species that's considered at risk of extinction by 2050, so to find such a high
00:54density population right here on the mid-coast is really exciting.
01:00Researchers are trying to determine what makes this site so special.
01:04What we think at the moment is that the dam behind me is one of the main reasons, so having
01:09that big permanent water source that's always there.
01:12The New South Wales government has helped fund the surveys.
01:16It says the Butuwa dam site sits within an identified area of regional koala significance,
01:22places where the animals have the potential to survive over the long term.
01:27The Mid-Coast Council is working with nearby landowners to improve koala corridors around
01:33the dam site, including extensive tree planting.
01:38Local cattle farmer Bill Hopkins is focused on ensuring cattle and koalas can co-exist.
01:45He says bush regeneration on his property is achieving results.
01:49We're seeing a lot more males and for the first time this year we're starting to see
01:54mothers and joeys.
01:56Providing hope we'll discover even more koalas around here in the future.