Australia has lost one-third of its koalas in the past three years

Australia has lost about 30 per cent of its koalas over the past three years, hit by drought, bushfires and developers cutting down trees, the Australian Koala Foundation said, urging the government to do more to protect the creature's habitat.

The independent non-profit group estimated the koala population has dropped to less than 58,000 this year from more than 80,000 in 2018, with the worst decline in the state of New South Wales, where the numbers have dropped by 41%.

"The declines are quite dramatic," said Australian Koala Foundation Chair Deborah Tabart on Tuesday.

There were no upward trends anywhere in Australia. Only one area in the study was estimated to have more than 5,000 koalas, and some regions were estimated to have as few as five or 10.

Tabart said the country needs a koala protection law.