By MEGAN OGLE
BUSINESS magnate Sir Richard Branson has vowed to save koalas by offering the vulnerable marsupial a luxury hideaway on Makepeace Island.
A spokesperson for Sir Richard’s Queensland getaway confirmed that Makepeace Island would serve as a base for the newly launched Richard Branson Koala Conservancy program.
“The conservancy is a program committed to funding koala research to contribute to the sustainability of koalas in Queensland, and the Noosa region in particular,” the spokesperson said.
“The big opportunity lies in dovetailing the first regional Koala Conservation Management Plan, currently being finalised by Noosa Council and applying scientific rigor to fill in the blanks so that our future koala conservation efforts are scientifically sound and well directed.”
The spokesperson said Makepeace Island would serve as a base for the program and would include koala holding enclosures for short stays as well as free-range enclosure for pre-release holding with a focus on research.
“The first project will be developed to understand the drivers of the decline of Noosa’s koala population,” the spokesperson said.
“To prevent further decline and extinction of local koalas requires detailed knowledge of the causes of premature death and reproductive loss.
“These can only be determined using telemetric monitoring and a detailed investigation of koala population health.”
Local koala advocacy group Queensland Koala Crusaders Inc (QKC) president Meghan Halverson said the group was delighted about the establishment of the conservancy program.
“We hope that the involvement of Sir Richard Branson and Brett Godfrey, and their establishment of this collaborative research entity, will be a turning point for our much-loved national icon and all the unique flora and fauna that live in our forests with them,” Ms Halverson said.
