Improving Survivorship and Dispersal Outcomes for Small-Scale Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) Translocations: A Case Study From Port Macquarie, New South Wales

Abstract

Processes of koala recovery will require reintroductions into parts of the species' former range and/or supplementation of other populations to assist their longer term viability. In this study, six wild-caught and three rehabilitated koalas were translocated into a new habitat area. The area into which the translocated koalas were introduced was not the subject of significant habitat use by other koalas at the time of their introduction, and a soft-release protocol that temporarily confined translocated individuals to a tree species known to be preferred for feeding purposes was also employed. Based on the results of a short-term radio-tracking programme, the translocation was deemed successful given no mortalities (including the survival of pouch young known to be present at initial capture), minimal movements away from the release site and rapid commencement of home-ranging behaviours. Male koalas ranged greater distances from their respective release sites than did female koalas. One subadult male koala moved approximately 1.6 km from the release site over a period of 5–6 weeks following release but subsequently returned. Koala activity across the area known to be utilised by the translocated koalas at the time of collar removal was monitored benignly using Spot Assessment Technique sampling at 250 m intervals for the ensuing 3 years, during which time koala activity remained dynamic but statistically constant, implying longer term survival and maintenance of site fidelity by the translocated koalas. The protocols utilised for this translocation are likely to provide a useful tool for future small-scale koala translocation programmes where reintroductions or population supplementation is required.