Save the Koala Day

Save the Koala Day was created by the Australian Koala Foundation, known as the AKF, to give its long-running September initiative, Save the Koala Month, a clear focal point that schools, communities, and supporters can rally around. The aim has always been simple and public-friendly: raise awareness and funds to protect koalas and their habitat. The campaign has run every year since 1986, and the last Friday of September has become its brightest spotlight.

The foundation behind the day has been standing up for koalas for decades. The AKF began life as the Australian Koala Association Inc in 1986, created by two veterinary scientists who refused to watch the koala’s future slip away. Today the AKF is recognized as the source of choice for information on koalas, with staff responding to more than ten thousand queries a year and a website that records nearly one million hits annually. It is an organization built on science, run on dedication, and powered by people who care.

Despite the nickname, the animal at the heart of this day is no bear at all. The koala is a marsupial, a mammal that carries its young in a pouch, and English-speaking settlers in Australia in the late 18th century simply thought it looked and behaved enough like a bear to earn the name. Australia provides the only natural habitat in the world for the koala. These tree-hugging mammals live in eucalyptus trees, grow up to three feet tall, and weigh anywhere from nine to thirty pounds.

The reason this day exists is written in the numbers. According to the Australian Koala Foundation, there are fewer than one hundred thousand koalas left in the wild, and some believe the true number is closer to forty-three thousand. In 2012 the Australian government declared the koala vulnerable in parts of Australia, and in February 2022 koalas in Queensland, New South Wales, and the Australian Capital Territory were placed on the endangered list. The AKF believes the conservation status of the koala should be updated further, to critically endangered.

So many forces are working against these gentle animals. Bushfires tear through the forests they call home. Domestic dog attacks and road accidents take a steady toll. And above all, the destruction of eucalyptus forests removes the food and shelter koalas depend on for everything. Habitat loss remains one of the primary reasons there are fewer koalas in the wild, which is why so much of the AKF’s work centers on protecting and managing that habitat.

Taking part is open to everyone, and the AKF makes it easy to begin. Fundraising sits at the heart of the campaign: supporters host dress-up events, organize workplace morning teas, run community fundraisers, and launch online donation drives. The Save the Koala Shop offers merchandise whose proceeds support the cause. Symbolic koala adoptions fund conservation directly. The Plant-A-Tree program plants trees at Quinlans, one of the AKF’s Environmental Reserves. And simply sharing the AKF’s educational resources helps more people understand what is at stake.

What gives this day its power is its tone. There is no scolding here, only invitation. Save the Koala Day trusts that once people learn how few koalas remain, and how much of their future depends on the forests we choose to protect, they will want to act. It is a day built on the belief that caring, once awakened, does not go back to sleep. On September 24, the invitation is simple: learn, give, share, and stand with the koalas.

The AKF’s work reaches well beyond Australia’s borders, and so does the day. The foundation established an ecolabelling initiative through which pastoralists who actively support koala habitat preservation receive the koala stamp of approval, and “Friends of the AKF” branches in New York and Washington give supporters in the United States a local home for their efforts. People from all over the world are encouraged to take part: selling Save the Koala Month merchandise such as temporary tattoos, stickers, and badges, whether as individuals, businesses, or school groups, or fundraising with donation boxes and events and returning the funds at the end of the month. Incentives are available for different levels of fundraising, so no effort is too small to celebrate.

THE STORY BEHIND SAVE THE KOALA DAY

🐼 A Foundation’s Focal Point
Save the Koala Day was created by the Australian Koala Foundation to give its September campaign, Save the Koala Month, a clear focal point. The campaign has run every year since 1986, and the last Friday of September is now its brightest spotlight.

🌎 Two Vets Started It All
The AKF began as the Australian Koala Association Inc in 1986, created by two veterinary scientists. Decades later it remains the recognized source of choice for information on koalas.

🐼 Not a Bear at All
The koala is a marsupial that carries its young in a pouch. English-speaking settlers in the late 1700s thought the animal looked and behaved like a bear, and the nickname stuck. Australia is the only place on Earth where koalas live in the wild.

💔 The Numbers Tell the Story
The AKF estimates fewer than one hundred thousand koalas remain in the wild, with some believing the number is closer to forty-three thousand. Koalas in Queensland, New South Wales, and the Australian Capital Territory were placed on the endangered list in February 2022.

🌳 Habitat Is Everything
Koalas live their lives in eucalyptus trees, and habitat destruction is one of the primary reasons their numbers have fallen. Bushfires, domestic dog attacks, and road accidents add to the danger they face.

Progress has come, but never fast enough. It was the Australian Koala Foundation’s own lobbying that helped secure the koala’s vulnerable listing under the Australian EPBC Act in 2012, and a decade later koalas in Queensland, New South Wales, and the Australian Capital Territory were uplisted to endangered. The AKF believes the conservation status should be updated further, to critically endangered, and it continues to push for stronger protection of the eucalyptus forests koalas cannot live without. Every September campaign, and every Save the Koala Day within it, builds pressure for the next step forward.

The foundation’s work is grounded in real conservation science. The AKF has identified and mapped more than one thousand koala habitat sites in South East Queensland alone, building the knowledge base that makes protection possible. Its staff remain the source of choice for information on koalas, responding to more than ten thousand queries and requests every year from students, land managers, and documentary makers alike. Save the Koala Day is the public face of that quieter year-round work: the science maps the habitat, and the day rallies the people who will defend it.

WAYS TO CELEBRATE

💰 Fundraise for the Wild Ones
Host a dress-up event, organize a workplace morning tea, or launch an online donation drive. Every effort, big or small, helps support the vital conservation work that keeps koalas in the wild.

🐼 Adopt a Koala
A symbolic adoption through the Australian Koala Foundation comes with perks like a personalized adoption certificate, and it sends real support to the front lines of koala conservation.

🌳 Plant a Tree
Support the AKF’s Plant-A-Tree program, where trees are planted at Quinlans, one of the foundation’s Environmental Reserves. A tree planted today becomes a koala’s home tomorrow.

Celebrate Save the Koala Day

On September 24, 2027, stand up for one of Australia’s most iconic animals. Learn, give, share, and help keep wild koalas where they belong: in the wild.