Quoll Headquarters
Koala Recovery Project
The 2019/2020 bushfires had a devastating impact on already dwindling populations of koalas in the Tenterfield district and Quoll Headquarters, a 160 Ha exclusion fenced nature reserve has been planning to reverse this decline with a multi-faceted facility dedicated to the recovery of the species. With grant support from the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife, we have completed a pre-release rehabilitation enclosure for orphaned and injured koalas and also a koala food tree plantation.
The 8 hectare pre-release enclosure is prime New England koala habitat of tall, old growth eucalypts now surrounded by a predator proof fence. This area will be utilised for the transition of both orphaned joeys and also recovering sick and injured koalas from a wildlife carer environment to a natural but predator proof ecosystem with all the requirements they need for further rehabilitation before release. This will provide a vital step to get koalas back into the wild.
Our new koala food tree plantation will also be crucial in the care and rehabilitation of the species. This plantation of endemic koala food trees, chosen by local botanist Sarah Caldwell, will be maintained for maximum leaf production and available for all koalas in care throughout the district.
With the help of our dedicated volunteers we have completed the project and we are working with local wildlife carers to give them the facilities they need to get koalas in their care rehabilitated and ready for release back into the wild.
This project will make a real positive and lasting impact on koala recovery in the New England district.
Quoll Headquarters Mission statement is ‘Protect, preserve and educate, creating a future for Australians threatened species whilst providing an educational facility for the public to understand, appreciate and learn about our unique wildlife’.
Thanks to the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife the New England district now has the facilities to care for and rehabilitate our precious koalas in the event of future catastrophic bushfires.
Steve Haslam
Founder of Quoll Headquarters
