Wild dogs could take a huge bite out of the federal government's $74 million commitment to protecting koalas, researchers have warned.
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The koala's "threatened species" status has recently been upgraded to "endangered" and a national recovery plan to guide the koala's survival has been released.
But National Wild Dog Management co-ordinator Greg Mifsud has warned wild dogs may be causing significant impacts on already struggling populations of koalas across eastern Australia.
There is growing evidence wild dog predation is a significant cause of koala mortality and researchers say strategies should focus on reducing the impact of free-ranging wild dog populations.
Mr Mifsud said while there were other threats to koalas - such as habitat loss and disease - research showed dingoes and wild dogs were posing a direct threat to their survival.
"The good news is we do have ethical and targeted strategies that can effectively control dingoes and wild dogs attacking and killing koalas," Mr Mifsud said.
"This important wake-up call for the community underlines the key message that any conservation strategies ignoring wild dog predation as a significant contributor to koala deaths will fail to halt population declines."
A Queensland study in the eastern Moreton Bay Council from 2013 to 2017 over a rail line development saw 503 koalas captured and fitted with telemetry devices for monitoring in the wild.
Of the 144 koala deaths confirmed as predation, wild dogs accounted for 81.3 per cent and domestic dogs 4.2 per cent; another 38 deaths were suspected wild dogs.
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Researchers concluded the koala population could have approached local extinction within a decade without wild dog control.
They stated a single male dog eluding capture until the end of the study was thought to be responsible for at least 75 koala deaths.
In one area of Moreton Bay, the koala population more than doubled thanks to a comprehensive wild dog management program implemented by the council.
Until recently, researchers had underestimated the impacts of wild dogs on koalas, according to Mr Mifsud.
He said dingoes, wild dogs and hybrids preferred habitat favoured by koalas such as established forests and vegetated areas around water courses.
Population trends released by the Australian Koala Foundation in 2021 revealed an estimated 30 per cent decline in koalas since 2018, with the species now extinct in 47 electorates.
The federal funding will target genomic research, disease prevention, a national koala census and extensive habitat restoration.