"koala"

An additional 34.9 million U.S. dollars will be spent over the next four years on koala conservation. The iconic native species of Australia have come under significant threat from habitat loss as a result of bushfires, farming and urban development.

Australia's koala population has taken such an "extraordinary hit" from the wildfires sweeping the country that the marsupial could be classified as endangered in some areas.

Sydney - Australian wildlife staff needed a crane to rescue a lovelorn female koala who escaped from her enclosure at the start of her first mating season, impatient to find a partner.