Koalas face death, attacks and starvation as blue gums chopped down in Victoria

A koala on a recently cleared blue gum plantation next to Budj Bim national park in Victoria. Photograph: Paul Hilton/Earth Tree Images/The Guardian

Thousands of koalas are being displaced each year as blue gum plantations are cut down in Victoria, worsening overcrowding in nearby forests and exacerbating the risk of injury and death during bushfires.

An estimated 42,500 koalas live in blue gum plantations in south-west Victoria, data shows. Between 8,000 and 10,000 hectares of plantation are harvested each year, making thousands of koalas homeless.