More than half of koalas relocated to NSW forest died in failed government attempt at reintroduction

The translocation project was aiming to re-establish a koala population in an area of south-eastern NSW where the species is locally extinct. Photograph: Auscape/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

An attempt by the New South Wales government to reintroduce koalas to a forest in the state’s far south has failed after more than half of the moved animals died, including two with signs of septicaemia, and the remaining marsupials were taken into care.

The translocation and deaths of seven out of 13 koalas in April were not made public by the government, prompting questions about whether something went wrong with the project and calls from the NSW Greens for a review.