Reward to find shooter who maimed Fleet the koala

Fleet the koala, as he has been nicknamed by wildlife hospital staff at Australia Zoo, was senselessly attacked by some idiot with an air rifle while perched in a gum tree at Kippa-ring north of Brisbane, Queensland.

The poor six-year-old marsupial suffered pellet wounds to every part of his body. Donations of more than $2000 poured in from the public when news of Fleet's plight was known.

Happily, he looks likely to survive his ordeal and a reward is now being offered to find the identity of the dropkick who shot him. Under the Nature Conservation Act, the maximum penalty for harming a koala is $300,000 or two years in jail.

Noisy koalas give cows a run for their money

A 15 pound koala is as loud as a cow weighing more than a tonne, a new study found.

Researchers discovered the marsupial emitted a louder sound as a way of attracting sexual partners during mating season.

The team of Australian and Austrian scientists, writing in The Journal of Experimental Biology, also found their cries were a way of boasting about their body size and intimidate rival lovers.

Is this the end of Port Maquarie's koalas?

A Senate Inquiry has been told it is too late to rely on research to save the dwindling koala population in the Port Stephens area, north of Newcastle.

The Hunter Koala Preservation Society says nearly 800 koalas died along the Tilligerry Peninsula in the 10 years to 2009.

The deaths have been blamed on fires, dog attacks, disease, development and car accidents.

The Society's President, Jill Taylor says she is sceptical about the work of steering committees dedicated to protecting koalas.

"These steering committees are full of National Park officers," she said.

"They're not the people who are on the coal face, they are some people that are more interested in doing research.

"Research is OK but let's have it, the koalas are dying at those numbers while they're adding up figures and doing research.

"Let's be real about it, let's put the money into what we need to keep the habitat."

Interactive koala map may help save species

The Australian Koala Foundation (AKF) has launched a new online koala map, which grades the quality of potential koala habitat nationwide.

The map is the latest tool in the fight to save the iconic Australian species from suffering a grim fate - the foundation believes there are as few as 45,000 koalas left due to loss of habitat.

The map was developed with mapping experts Esri Australia, whose online maps of Brisbane were used widely during January's floods, and are also helping with the response to the Japanese tsunami.

The foundation's Deborah Tabart says the $8 million map was developed using data from thousands of volunteer hours. It would allow landowners to upload photos and videos when they spot koalas on their properties, or mark where a proposed road or building project could threaten them.