Wild koalas are being vaccinated against chlamydia.
Wild koalas are being vaccinated against chlamydia
Australian scientists have launched an ambitious field trial in New South Wales to trial a method to protect the marsupials against a disease that causes blindness, infertility and death.
The initial goal of the trial is to catch, vaccinate and monitor around half of the koala population in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales - which means vaccinating around 50 animals.
Researchers constructed circular enclosures at the base of eucalyptus trees to capture the koalas as they wandered into the harmless traps in search of tasty leaves.
Samuel Phillips, a microbiologist at the University of the Sunshine Coast who helped develop the vaccine, said: "It's killing koalas because they become so sick they can't climb trees to get food, or escape predators, and females can become infertile.
"We want to evaluate what percentage of the koalas we need to vaccinate to meaningfully reduce infection and disease."