Officials estimate that there are as few as 43,000 koalas left in Australia.
"Large numbers have been killed by an outbreak of chlamydia, a sexually transmitted disease, while others have been affected by loss of habitat due to deforestation and climate change, she said.
Hotter, drier conditions had also reduced the nutritional value of their staple food, eucalyptus leaves, leading to fatal malnutrition.
The Koala Foundation collected data from 1,800 field sites and 80,000 specific trees in an attempt to gauge koala numbers."
