We once killed 600,000 koalas in a year. Now they’re Australia’s ‘teddy bears’. What changed?

  • Written by: Ruby Ekkel, PhD student in Australian History, Australian National University
We once killed 600,000 koalas in a year. Now they’re Australia’s ‘teddy bears’. What changed?Shutterstock

Koalas are one of the world’s most beloved animal species. They serve as symbols for everything from bushfire destruction to Australian tourism to caramel chocolate bars. These tree-dwelling marsupials get far more attention than many other endangered native species. But Australians haven’t always felt this way about our...

Read more: We once killed 600,000 koalas in a year. Now they’re Australia’s ‘teddy bears’. What changed?