August 16, 2026
A group of scientists headed by Texas A&M University, USA, and the University of Sydney, Australia, has found that climate and environmental changes caused koalas to nearly disappear from Australia approximately 1,00,000 years ago. The research involved carrying out special genomic studies, which gave scientists an understanding of koala populations thousands of years ago. Previous studies had found that the koala population declined following the arrival of humans in Australia. However, the new study reveals that the population was impacted by loss of habitat and climate change before humans. According to the research, present-day koalas have emerged from a tiny koala group that managed to survive the tough environmental conditions thousands of years ago.
DID YOU KNOW?
Koala babies are only about 2cms in length when they are born. They are born blind and hairless.
