Queenslanders are being encouraged to report koala sightings via a new and free app to help conservation experts get a better understanding of population numbers and movement.
The QWildlife Koala Sighting App was launched by Environment Minister Leanne Linard on Saturday as part of efforts to halt the species’ rapid decline in Queensland, much of which has been during the Palaszczuk government’s eight years in power.Koalas were declared an endangered species in Queensland and NSW by the former Coalition government in February last year after being listed as “vulnerable” in 2012.
Localised extinctions or population strains have been caused by the decimation of eucalypt forests for agriculture, mines and human settlement.Numbers have been put under further pressure by dogs attacks and vehicle strikes, while 3000 animals have been recorded with diseases over the last six years, according to Maggie Muurmans, a senior conservation officer with the Department of Environment and Science.
Queensland-based software developer GP One developed the app with $200,000 from the state government.Koalas are notoriously difficult to spot in the wild because they blend in with their surroundings and spend much of their time in treetops, raising questions about whether the new app would be genuinely effective.
Other projects to share in $520,000 of grant funding include thermal drone surveys and research to improve connectivity across the Logan and Albert Rivers catchment, while Griffith University plans to use artificial intelligence and 100 cameras to monitor road crossing behaviour.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Humpback whale stranded off Queensland coast dies, citizen scientists called to monitor populationResearchers investigate whether the world's first heritage whale site is equipped to welcome a growing population, as a whale dies near Hervey Bay.
Read more »
Queensland leaving its infrastructure to rot in pursuit of green superstateNo one knows how much it will cost to wire the Queensland outback up to the National Electricity Grid or if this ambitious project will ever be finished.
Read more »
Coach whisperer 2.0: The schoolboy inspiring Queensland’s Origin campaignBilly Slater is using one of Australia’s best self-help teachers to get the best out of the Maroons.
Read more »
Queensland’s ‘other sea change’ is altering the coastline foreverAustralia’s eastern coastline continues to be hammered by tropical cyclones, rising sea levels and significant tides as islands are ripped in two. And experts predict other parts of the coast will be eaten away.
Read more »
Aviation 'pioneer' who once travelled in the luggage hold of a booked-out commercial flight farewelledMax Hazelton is remembered as a man who 'broke a few rules', provided regional Australians with access to air travel and survived six days lost after a crash in NSW, at a memorial service in Orange attended by hundreds.
Read more »