Koala History

Historically, South Australian koalas only inhabited the lower south-east of the state. They were thought to be extinct by the 1930s, when the koala fur trade ceased due to a ban on koala hunting.

To allow their decimated population to recover, between 1923–1925 eighteen koalas were introduced to Kangaroo Island (from French Island, Victoria) as a safe haven for koalas to breed.

Between 1959-1969 koalas from the thriving population on Kangaroo Island were introduced to the Mount Lofty Ranges, the Riverland and lower Eyre Peninsula. In 1969 they were re-established in the South East of South Australia. The relocation of koalas was extremely successful and although they are now facing significant challenges, the South Australian population is more secure than other Australian populations and may serve as an ark for Australia’s koalas.

Although reported numbers of koalas in South Australia vary, they were estimated to be somewhere between 20,000–114,000 across the state. However, they suffered heavy losses in the catastrophic bushfires in the summer of 2019–2020.

The surviving numbers remain unknown.