Redland City Council wants drivers to slow down this weekend after a car knocked over and killed a young male koala on Redland Bay Road, Capalaba, last weekend.
Redland Wildlife Rescue volunteers were called after a Capalaba resident saw the koala lying on the roadside on Saturday, August 18.
It is believed the animal was killed early that morning near where road works were recently completed.
Redland’s Koala Action Group president Debbie Pointing said Redland Bay Road had the highest koala fatality rate in the city, followed by Mount Cotton, Boundary and Cleveland-Redland Bay roads.
The council said about 35 per cent of koala deaths in Redland were from cars running over the animal and estimated the city’s koala population at 1300.
In the year to May, 54 Redland koalas were hit by vehicles on Redland roads and 50 of those koalas died.
Ms Pointing expected that figure to rise during koala breeding season, from now until December.
She called for dead koalas to be left on the roadside so motorists could see where the animals were dying.
“Most Redland residents don’t know koalas are hit regularly on our roads because the bodies are removed often before the morning peak-hour traffic,” she said.
“Our group would like to see the bodies left until 9am so motorists going to work and school see where the koalas are being hit.
“The animal would need to be checked by someone to make sure there is no young in the pouch and marked with fluorescent paint to show this has been done before it’s collected.
“Alternately, temporary roadside signs could be used to indicate where a koala was killed,” Ms Pointing said.
She also called for more koala road overpasses to be built in Redlands, after the finishing touches were put on one at Mount Cotton Road, Burbank, in July.
Ms Pointing said many koalas contracted fatal diseases or were attacked by domestic cats and dogs after their habitats were destroyed.
However, she outlined five steps residents could take to save a Redland koala.
Here’s how to save koalas in your area:
1) Scan the sides of the road for koalas when driving and watch for koala “eyeshine” (reflections from an animal’s eyes) at night and early morning.
2) Slow down on the road.
3) Call Redland city’s 24-hour Wildlife Rescue Service if you see an injured koala on 3833 4031.
4) Get immediate veterinary care for injured koalas. This can mean the difference between life and death for the animal.
5) Plant koala food trees.
Koala Action Group will hold a koala tree planting in the park next to Baythorn Drive, on the corner of King Street, Thornlands, on Sunday, September 2, from 8.30am to 10.30am.