Australia launches hi-tech equipment to protect koalas

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The Australian State of Queensland is set to launch groundbreaking new technology to locate and protect its koala population, it was announced Friday.

State of the art bio-acoustics recognition equipment, along with a number of aerial drones will be deployed in the state's south west where the koala population has been decimated in recent years.

A road sign on the Bruce Highway south of Mackay, in Queensland state, Australia, warning drivers of koalas crossing the road taken on January 7 2011. /VCG Photo

A 2016 report by the Queensland Government estimated that koala numbers had dropped from 60,000 in the 1990s to around 10,000 today, down 80 percent.

"This project will allow us to tell, in real time, how many koalas are in an area, whether the population is increasing or decreasing, and also identify unoccupied areas of suitable habitat which could be recolonized," Queensland minister for environment and heritage protection Steven Miles said.

The state has committed 12.1 million Australian dollars (9.57 million US dollars) on the project, on top of the 2.6 million dollars (2.06 million US dollars) that is spent for ongoing koala protection each year.

A baby koala hugs his mother as she undergoes emergency surgery after being hit by a car in Queensland state, Australia, on June 5 2015. /VCG Photo

University of Queensland researcher Dr Bill Ellis explained that the development of cost-effective koala monitoring equipment using bio-acoustics will have even greater applications than protecting Australia's most loved creature.

"This project will also create a web of intelligence-gathering that will help us monitor koala populations and will be good for monitoring invasive species," Ellis said.

"Our approach can engage local land owners and managers in finding, understanding and conserving this important species."

Found injured by the roadside in Queensland state, Australia, a female koala was found to have heterochromia, a genetic condition that causes reduced pigmentation in the iris giving her one blue and one brown eye on July 12, 2016. /VCG Photo

When it comes to drone technology, Miles believes high-resolution thermal cameras will provide more robust survey methods for detecting koalas.

"Shorter survey periods, lower costs and larger survey areas, and greatly increased accuracy of koala counts all of which can lead to better koala conservation," Miles said.

"There are real gaps in our knowledge about how many koalas there are, they can be hard to spot high up in trees, and using both these technologies we can better locate, track and protect our precious koalas."

(Source: Xinhua)