Koala Life is actively partnering with many researchers on koala habitat and disease issues, both with a South Australian focus, but importantly also a national focus. Challenges for the koala in Australia are many and varied and through our partnerships we can achieve much in a comparatively short period of time.
Apart from those papers published since our rebirth as Koala Life in 2020, we have been very active in research yet to make it to print.
- A multi-collaborative paper on gut biomes in the koala (Adelaide University) will soon be in print and will change the way we view translocations and ill koala management.
- Work is currently underway looking at pouch biomes and how they may influence koala joeys (Adelaide University).
- We have been partnering on measuring the absence or presence of stress in koalas being exposed to drones for the purpose of census data collection. This has been an Honours project through Flinders University and is nearing its publication date. This project is being extended with further researchers in 2022, and we are also partnering with this extension. You can learn more about the Honours project here.
- Apart from our successful ARC linkage with Flinders University and Prof. Corey Bradshaw looking at koala genetics, we are also partners in another ARC linkage application looking at oxalate nephrosis in the koala with Adelaide University Veterinary School.
- Koala Life is currently looking at possible vaccine research with implications for the captive koalas in the world as well as using latest genetic methods to best manage the disease-free population of koalas we currently care for through several partnerships with Flinders University.
- We are partnering with Prof. Delene Weber, University of South Australia, on a project looking at the relationship between humans and koalas.
- Koala Life currently sits on the Executive Committee of the National Koala Disease Risk Assessment Panel – University of Sydney.
- Koala Life sits on the National Koala health Monitoring Group – CSIRO.
- Koala Life staff have also been assisting 2 different authors currently writing books about koalas.