The inevitable happened.
Australia officially listed koalas along much of its eastern coast as "endangered" on Friday, with the marsupials suffering the consequences of bushfires, land clearing, drought and disease.
Environment Minister Sussan Ley has classified these koala populations as "endangered" to provide them with a higher level of protection in New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and Queensland.
Conservationists say the koala population has crashed in much of eastern Australia over the past twenty years and the animal is on the verge of extinction in those areas.
While they welcomed the minister's announcement, they also condemned the authorities' failure to protect the species so far.
Already classified as “vulnerable” 10 years ago
The koala, a symbol across the world of Australia's unique ecosystem, was listed as 'vulnerable' on the east coast a decade ago.
"We are taking unprecedented action to protect the koala," said the minister, highlighting the government's recent pledge to spend 50 million Australian dollars (31 million euros) to protect and restore koala habitats.
Koalas have gone from “vulnerable to endangered” status in the space of a decade.
It's a shockingly rapid decline,” said Stuart Blanch, conservation specialist at WWF-Australia.
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