Dogs, drones set to sniff out Lake Mac koala populations

Lake Macquarie City Council is set to roll out surveys over the next 18 months to help identify koala populations throughout the local government area.

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Manager Environmental Systems Brendan Callander said that to conserve and protect koalas in Lake Macquarie, more information was required about their population, habitat use, distribution and barriers to movement.

Surveys will likely initially use detection dogs to establish the presence of koalas in koala habitat areas.

If koalas are identified, drones could then be deployed to find out more about population sizes and home ranges.

“Until now, there has really been no systematic survey for koalas in Lake Macquarie, apart from some University of Newcastle research in Sugarloaf State Conservation Area,” Mr Callander said.

“Records and anecdotal evidence suggest we have populations in the Watagans, around Mount Sugarloaf and south of Morisset, but other large areas of bushland across our city include potential koala habitat. The upcoming surveys will help identify whether any koalas exist in these locations.”

Council will work with the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water to analyse koala sightings over the past 18 years to identify areas of ‘generational persistence’.

“Generational persistence is where records of koalas exist in a location over three consecutive intervals of six years, which is the average koala lifespan,” Mr Callander said.

“That would provide evidence of an area inhabited by a breeding population of koalas.”

Council will use NSW Government grants awarded under its NSW Koala Strategy to undertake the surveys.

“We’ll also work closely with Port Stephens and Cessnock City Councils, both of which are doing similar work,” Mr Callander said.

Council will soon begin targeted koala surveys over strategically selected sites across the Lake Macquarie LGA, including some locations identified on private land.

Mr Callander said participation was voluntary.

“Participation and support from landholders would be greatly appreciated and will help contribute to our knowledge base on the local koala population,” he said.

“The ability to manage, protect and conserve koalas within our LGA depends on this knowledge.”

Community members can assist by logging any koala sightings using the I Spy Koala App.

More information about the NSW Koala Strategy is available at environment.nsw.gov.au.