PROTECTING AN AUSSIE ICON WITH KOALA

Unified in a common goal to protect threatened and endangered wildlife, Koala and WWF have been in partnership since 2017. Through the partnership, Koala donates funds to WWF from every mattress sold. In addition, the partnership aims to inspire and educate Koala’s customers about the work of WWF to protect threatened and endangered wildlife, such as stopping activities including excessive tree-clearing that puts iconic species and habitat at risk.

This includes helping protect their namesake, the koala. Currently, we are working together to prevent the further decline of koala populations by restoring and reducing the loss of koala habitat and supporting key interventions required for sick and injured koalas. In addition, together we are raising awareness of threats that wildlife is facing and the importance of conserving the iconic Australian koala species. Learn more about our current work with koalas below.

Koala have also supported research projects trialling practical methods to cool the sand temperature of green sea turtle and hawksbill turtle nests. Reports have revealed that increasing temperatures in the northern Great Barrier Reef are turning populations of marine turtles almost completely female. Donations from sales of their Koala sofa have enabled WWF-Australia to test and trial the best methods to return hatchling gender numbers to more natural levels.

In addition, Koala and WWF-Australia have worked together to give the Kangaroo Island glossy black cockatoo the best chance of recovery. Up to 75 per cent of the glossy black cockatoo population on Kangaroo Island lived within the 210,000 hectare area that was burnt during the summer bushfires. The proceeds of sofa bed sales, have helped replace the artificial nest boxes lost in the fires. These nesting boxes are critical for ensuring healthy breeding populations.

WWF and Koala also partner together in Japan working to conserve species such as the Amami rabbit.

Globally, WWF has been working successfully on the conservation of the world’s most iconic species for over 50 years. WWF works in partnership with a variety of organisations, communities and individuals to protect those endangered species most in need. Australia's vast continent is home to some of the most magnificent plants and animals on Earth. Many have evolved in splendid geographical isolation and are found nowhere else, including the koala. Sadly, being iconic and symbolic is not enough to save the koala from the threat of extinction. In the 1920s, hundreds of thousands of koalas were shot for the fur trade and now they are contending with the consequences of ongoing excessive tree-clearing. Together, we can work for the conservation of our world’s most threatened and endangered species, restore their habitats, protect them from destruction and win the fight against extinction.

Since our partnership with Koala began in 2017, some of our achievements include:

• Planting more than 50,000 trees across koala habitat
• Distributing more than 43,000 trees to landholders for planting in koala habitat (across Lismore and surrounds)
• Supporting detection dogs to collect data for over 3,000 koala surveys to understand koala populations and genetic diversity
• Supporting critical research to help understand and prevent feminisation of sea turtles caused by climate change
• Installing 28 nest boxes for endangered species Kangaroo Island Glossy Black Cockatoos Supporting the care of over 50 sick and injured koalas and released them back into the wild
• Purchasing crucial equipment for koala carer teams to safely capture, care for, and release koalas
• Helping mobilise 100s of ongoing volunteers to support koalas