PREVIEW

Thermal drone footage has captured the heartwarming moment an endangered koala and her tiny young joey were spotted nestled together high in the treetops.

The wholesome discovery was made at Australian Wildlife Conservancy’s (AWC) newly established Waulinbakh Wildlife Sanctuary, situated just north of Sydney.

Ecologists from AWC and MidCoast Council were thrilled as the drone’s morning survey revealed the mother-and-joey duo. The pair were among 10 koalas detected while surveying two sections of the sanctuary, covering 240 hectares.

“Encountering 10 koalas is a great result,” says Andy Howe, AWC’s Senior Field Ecologist. “It indicates that the koala population at Waulinbakh Wildlife Sanctuary is robust, giving us a great platform to work from and emphasising the site’s significance as a critical refuge for the endangered species in the region.”

Established in 2022, Waulinbakh Wildlife Sanctuary was expected to support over 300 vertebrate species, including koalas. Initial sightings hinted at their presence, but the population's full extent was unclear until now.

“We had an idea of where to search for Koalas based on early results from a bioacoustics survey we conducted at the sanctuary last year,” explains Howe. “At the time, we had high koala calling rates in two areas within the central and north-east corner of the sanctuary."

The drone footage confirmed the koalas appeared healthy, with “full and uniform coats of grey and bright white fur, no clouding or discharge in the eyes from conjunctivitis, and no staining on the rump from chlamydia – a great sign!” Howe says.

In 2022, the NSW government elevated the koala’s conservation status, making it a regional priority. This move supports the MidCoast Koala Conservation Strategy, which will steer koala protection and management efforts over the next five years.