Almost 30 koala rescued through one south-west wildlife centre

Koroit Wildlife carer, Tracey Wilson, said although the final month of 2017 had been busy, with 27 koala rescues, the numbers were not up on the previous year.

Mrs Wilson, who runs Mosswood Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation, said October to April was traditionally a busy period for koala rescues.

"There are a lot more of them on the move as it is breeding season" she said.

Mrs Wilson said the harvest of blue gum plantations in the south-west meant that koalas were often in search of new habitat. She said there was bound to be more koalas in the landscape because of that and she had seen koalas roam as far as 30kms looking for food. “Any loss of habitat will increase the amount of many species of wildlife,” she said.

Mrs Wilson said she believed the population of koalas near the Cobden Warrnambool road was increasing with land owners reporting more animals injured.

She said for the time being her shelter had eight young koalas who had been orphaned and three adult koalas. Mrs Wilson also has a sulphur crested cockatoo, a micro bat and two tawny frog mouths in care.

"For this time of year it's not too bad," she said. "We can have up to 18 koalas in care. “Most people don't realise how many koalas we have in Warrnambool trying to get around in the dwindling habitat on the fringes and also in the city itself.”