April 2010 . . The Narangba Translocation Project

Southeast Queensland’s Lake Samsonvale Nature Refuge is now home to 10 koalas relocated from the Narangba area.  Their former bushland home surrounded by suburbia is being cleared for high density residential housing.

If the koalas had been left to disperse under their own volition all would have died as a consequence of motor vehicle strikes whilst negotiating New Settlement Road or Oakey Flat Road, hit by trains as they crossed the Burpengary Railway line or attacked by domestic animals as they searched for food and shelter opportunities.
Koala Action Pine Rivers Inc. (KAPR) and Moreton Bay Koala Rescue (MBKR) have been working closely with the Ecological Services Unit at the Australian Wildlife Hospital (AWH) and DERM to provide a future for these koalas.  All the koalas were given a health check and radio collared prior to their release. 
They are now a part of an ongoing research project started by Dr Jon Hanger, Senior Veterinarian and Researcher at the AWH.  DERM staff will continue to study these animals to ensure they remain healthy as they move around in unfamiliar surroundings.  KAPR and MBKR will continue to maintain their interest in these koalas and we look forward to continued positive communication with DERM as the koalas settle in.
In addition, resident koalas will be captured and collared to determine the interaction between the new comers and the residential population.  Any impacts on the existing koala habitat can then be determined.  This research will help inform the ongoing debate relating to moving koalas out of their former home range into new koala habitat.