Here is a very short photo story about a koala in Cleveland.
This koala has just escaped from a science facility in Cleveland
- 300 metres from Toondah Harbour is the building used by BAAM Environmental Consulting and Redland Water.
This well treed facility is secured with a high fence and barred gates but….
Early one morning this koala was photographed squeezing through the barred gate
This gives you an idea of the space between the bars
After squeezing through the bars the koala looked around
Seeing that the coast was clear it set off
To find a safe tree to hide in somewhere along the Eddie Santagiuliana Way
The Toondah Harbour Priorty Development Area
Toondah Harbour Priority Development Area showing location of koala (click to enlarge)
This koala was photographed leaving an area within the Toondah Harbour Priority Development Area.
The State Government and Redland City Council are negotiating with Walker Corporation about plans for real estate development in this area which may include buildings up to ten storeys high accommodating up to 2,000 new residents.
Any such development, which is under the control of the State Government, could result in significant loss of koala habitat trees in a known koala corridor linking G.J. Walter Park to the Eddie Santagiuliana Way.
Do we need stronger local laws to protect koala trees?
If any trees were to be lost as a result of high rise real estate development in the Toondah Harbour Priority Development Area, then koalas will have to rely on other mature trees in the local area.
In a recent post we discussed Protecting koala trees in Redland City.
Do you think we should save koalas by making tree protection local laws more effective?
Please complete the poll below and encourage others to do so as well.
[yop_poll id=”5″]
If you think that saving koala trees is important you may want to sign this petition
Acknowledgement
The photos of the koala were taken by Veronica Hyland early one morning in September
So far as we know, no koalas were hurt in the making of this story.
Please note: Offensive or off-topic comments will be deleted. If offended by any published comment please email thereporter@redlands2030.net
We must protect the koalas in the area – council must stop giving developers the go ahead to remove all the trees to build homes.when walking 20 years ago we always saw 15 or more koalas now we are lucky to see one. Surely this would be a great thing for tourism in our City.
Great photos. What an amazingly cute animal and how delightful to view it in our neighbourhoods. The Thornlands State School Centenary 1910 – 2010 publication contains a moving account by Des James, Principal 1981-1985 about how “a couple of hundred students from the infant grades” were so captivated by a koala in one of the schoolyard trees that they refused to follow his instructions to move into class. Thirty years on the experience still leaves people, of all ages, spellbound.
I recall when my children attended Coolnwynpin State School, on a regular basis the students would sit in the covered area and have lunch and at least once a week one or two koalas would walk through the area and the children would just sit and watch them, no one bothered them, thankfully they had a Deputy Principal Betty Johnson who was a wonderful advocate for the environment she made sure there were trees through the grounds and a corridor along the school fence to enable the local koala to have a home. Sadly when Ausbuild did the development next to the school, the children would watch the machines knock the trees over and cry, so the school asked the contractor to stop using the machine during the time the kids were on a break. It became very stressful for the children. There were 13 koalas identified by EPA in this area that Ausbuild developed and now there are none.