Ballarat Koala Research Project
Ballarat Wildlife Rehabilitation & Conservation’s (BWRAC) Ballarat Koala Research Project:
BWRAC received funding from the State Government in September 2023 for the purpose to provide veterinary treatment and care to injured, sick or orphaned koalas in and around Ballarat;
- Support Foster carers within the Organisation to rehabilitate sick, injured and orphaned wildlife so animals can be released back to the wild.
- Undertake targeted research to determine the existing koala health, abundance and their habitat in and around the City of Ballarat.
BWRAC bought three purpose-built enclosures for our members to safely house the koalas during their rehabilitation and the grant money has also been used on vital tests to enable quick and accurate diagnosis for the koalas.
The koalas are triaged by the Ballarat Wildlife Hospital.
BWRAC members: Jennifer Greenhalgh and Nikki Shanahan, Shanhaven Shelter are our primary koala rescuers and rehabilitators. They spend long hours tending to ill and
recovering koalas, keeping them warm, medicated and well fed. They regularly collect fresh ‘browse’ for the koalas to eat, and if they cannot eat the leaves whole, it then gets turned into an eucalyptus smoothie!
Our project partner, Federation University is undertaking the research component.
Under the guidance of Dr Sarah Preston and Dr Adrienne Lavinia, the university’s team track the koalas once they have been released. The koalas are fitted with a microchip and a tracking collar which sends vital location data to a satellite periodically.
Project citation:
Ballarat Wildlife Rehabilitation & Conservation’s (BWRAC) Koala Research Project in partnership with Federation University, the Ballarat Wildlife Hospital, Jennifer Greenhalgh and Nikki Shanahan Shanhaven Shelter, made possible by a Victorian State Ministerial Grant through the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA), made possible by Andy Medick MP.