Did you know Koalas aren’t really bears? We know of them as ‘Koala Bears’ only because of their vague resemblance to the ferocious carnivore. In reality, their closest living relatives are, interestingly, wombats. Another fact that you may not know is that the herbivore, endemic to Australia, is now vulnerable to extinction–being degraded on the IUCN Red list from ‘Least Concern’ to ‘Vulnerable’ last year, thanks to habitat destruction and fragmentation. Realising this alarming trend, the Koala Clancy Foundation/Echidna Walkabout, which is a not for profit charity set up to support wild koalas around Victoria and Melbourne, has demarcated 3rd May as Wild Koala Day. Koala Clancy, a young soon-to-be-seven year old Koala, was born on that day in 2010 and has been researched since birth. Just like his ancestors, he too has contributed a lot to the pool of knowledge about koala behaviour. The birth prompted the creation of Wild Koala Day, in order to not only prevent a reduction of their population, but to spread awareness and undertake conservation efforts.
Visit koalaclancyfoundation.org.au for more.