The Australian Koala Foundation (AKF) is proud that when the Federal Government first took responsibility to list the Koala as Vulnerable in 2012, this was the first time in over 200 years that the Koala gained federal attention. That said, Victoria and South Australia missed out; only Queensland, New South Wales and the ACT received the listing.
In 2022, the Koala was upgraded to Endangered and yet Victoria and South Australia missed out once more.
The AKF nominated the Koala for a federal listing as far back as 2006 though the federal government decided against listing the Koala as ‘Vulnerable’ . This spurred the AKF to make the decision that in order to protect the species, we needed to have confidence in just how many Koalas remained in the wild, and where those Koalas were located. This resulted in Bob’s Map (named after the past chairman of the AKF)
Bob’s Map, based on the best science available, became a project with the specific aim of estimating and monitoring the national Koala population. This has been an ongoing project ever since as we continue evaluating the latest research and identify the carrying capacities of various landscapes across the Koala’s entire geographical range.
Bob’s Map 2025 Edition:Click image for larger view
Bob’s Map is the result of more than $20 million and nearly 40 years of research. These maps simply and powerfully illustrate the dramatic impact humans have had on the Koala’s landscape, not to mention the devastating losses the land has felt since Europeans first settled in Australia. It’s not just the trees lost over the last 237 years, but the impacts of this habitat loss on millions of species, on the soil and water, on the climate, and on our general quality of life. Today, the pressure on the Koala is even greater and forests continue to be destroyed at an alarming rate
The Science
Vegetation Mapping
Initially ‘National Vegetation Information System’ (NVIS) Version 1.0 data was used to map potential Koala habitat on the east coast of Australia. Of the 26 NVIS classes, we selected four containing tree species that were relevant to Koalas. Vegetation mapping was initially split into regional ecosystems, and later reapportioned by federal electorate. As the Federal Government and its elected parliamentarians are the ultimate guardians of the species, it was felt appropriate to examine the issue on this basis. For a map of your local Federal electorate and how your local member scores, visit Act or Axe.
The AKF’s vegetation mapping continued to evolve into what is now known as the Koala Habitat Atlas (KHA). The KHA shows the extant Koala habitat across their entire geographical range and incorporates a wide array of data, local knowledge, literature and other sources into its foundation.
Field Data Collection
While conducting research to develop the AKF Koala Habitat Atlas (KHA), the AKF has accumulated a database of records for over 100,000 individually assessed trees from over 2,000 field sites in 16 of the 30 bioregions the Koala is known to occur. At each field site, Koala habitat utilisation and tree species preferences were assessed. Combined with vegetation maps this data allows AKF researchers to estimate the amount of habitat remaining, and to rank that habitat in terms of its suitability for Koalas.
Estimating Koala Abundance
AKF has developed over 250 KHAs providing data on the amount and quality of available habitat. Additionally, we have made use of the results of a number of published studies conducted by other researchers. With this data we can model estimates of the proportion of habitat occupied by Koalas, potential Koala densities and home range sizes in each class of habitat and use this information to predict the number of Koalas in each area. The results are validated and adjusted if necessary using information provided by researchers and local community groups working in the local area.
Now in 2025, we take the view that Bob’s Map is the best estimate of Koala numbers. The AKF has been open that if credible science is given to us, in a credible form, that disputes any of our Koala population estimates, we would consider changing our views on wild Koala numbers. No such data has been forthcoming for many years.
If you do have credible science that supports, challenges or even disputes our science, we’d love to hear from you. Please contact us via -email- akf@savethekoala.com
