For the first time in several years, a koala has been spotted within ACT borders, much to the delight of locals and academics.
However concerns are mounting for the welfare of the endangered animal, given it was spotted in an area set to be bulldozed for hundreds of homes.
Independent ACT senator David Pocock, who has seen and photographed the koala, is seeking urgent action from the government to ensure the area is protected.
"I've never seen a koala in the wild in the ACT, never heard of someone seeing one," Senator Pocock said.
The koala was spotted in box-gum grassy woodland within Jacka, a suburb under development in the northern-most part of Gungahlin. Once complete it will include about 700 homes and 1800 residents.
A member of the public first spotted the koala and uploaded the sighting to NatureMapr, a citizen science platform, on October 17.
The ACT government has since confirmed the sighting of a male Gula, the Ngunnawal name for koala, and said work was under way to protect the animal.
Its exact location has been suppressed for the animal's protection.
Years since last ACT koala sighting
Koala populations in the ACT, Queensland and NSW are listed as an endangered species under the federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
The ACT government listed the animal as endangered in 2023.
The most recent confirmed koala sightings in the ACT were in 2021, in Tennent and Oaks Estate. In 2017 there were reports of a koala crossing the road near Pialligo Avenue.
Prior to that, the last time koalas were recorded in the ACT was in 1992, in Kowen Escarpment Nature Reserve.
Professor David Lindenmayer, a world-leading expert in forest and woodland ecology, said this new sighting was a very important finding.
"Clearly the development proposal needs to be stopped," he said.
"If we are seriously calling ourselves the bush capital we've got to stop knocking down the bush."
Likely to be more than one koala in the area
It was likely the koala was living in the area, not just passing through, another academic said.
Dr Kara Youngentob, a senior research fellow at the ANU Fenner School of Environment and Society who has expertise in koala habitats, said dispersal was a rare occurrence for koalas.
"It might happen at most once in a lifetime," she said.
"So it's more likely than not that this koala actually lives here and this is part of its home range, so hopefully we see it again."
There was also a good chance there was more than one koala roaming the area, Dr Youngentob said.
"It's kind of a law in nature that when you see one of something you see more of that thing," she said.
Whether or not the koala had dispersed from a NSW population will form part of the ACT government's investigation.
An ACT government spokesperson said the Conservator of Flora and Fauna was working with conservation officers and the responsible land custodian on due diligence and survey activities.
They will also determine whether the corridor of habitat was being used more often by koalas.
"The outcome of this work will guide and inform next steps by the ACT government," the spokesperson said.
Members of the community should avoid specifically searching for the koala as it could disrupt the monitoring activities, they said.
Koala sighting something 'we should be taking seriously'
While the koala itself is endangered, so too is the area where it was found.
"Dealing with an endangered ecosystem that's home to an endangered species seems like something we should be taking seriously as Canberrans, given our love of nature in the bush capital," Senator Pocock said.
He wants to see the area referred to the federal Environment Department for consideration under the EPBC Act.
"I'll be seeking clarification from the relevant ACT agency to find out what has happened and chase that up with the federal department," he said.
A spokesperson for the Environment Department said no referral for the area had been received.
Dr Youngentob said there were historical records of koalas living in the area that will soon form part of Jacka.
"Certainly there's no reason why they couldn't be other than pressure from development and feral dogs and those sorts of threats," she said.
She hopes the koala can be an ambassador to help protect and conserve the habitat.
