Koala deaths in Queensland rise as Moreton Bay Rail Link project faces delays; Opening date of the new rail line still unknown

At least 281 koalas have died since the construction of a 12.6-kilometre heavy gauge dual-track rail line between Petrie and Kippa-Ring on the Redcliffe peninsula commenced in March 2013.

According to the Queensland Government, 116 of the dead koalas have been killed by wild dogs after the marsupials’ displacement from their natural habitat due to the construction of the $1 billion Moreton Bay Rail Link project.

This major cause of death has been revealed in the latest report on Koala Tagging and Monitoring Program Services for Moreton Bay Rail Link project, which the Department of Transportation and Main Roads published as part of overseeing the infrastructure project. The other causes of mortality are illness, which account for 82 koala deaths, suspected wild dog predation with 38 deaths, and carpet python attacks with 19 deaths.

Koala expert and Griffith University professor Darryl Jones said government’s efforts to protect koalas from the consequences of constructing the rail project have been a “catastrophic failure.”

"Koalas know when they are not at home. And they get out of the trees and go 'this not where I know, this is someone else's territory,’” Jones told the Brisbane Times.

"And they get on the ground and walk for miles, looking for to where 'home' used to be. And this exposes them to injuries from dogs and that is the problem,” he added.

Interestingly, only nine koalas died in the past three years after being hit by a vehicle, while another one perished after being hit by train. Video footage reveal that koalas used drains and culverts as tunnels and underpasses as well as mammal bridges to avoid roads.

Environmentalists and animal rights advocates warn of possible koala extinction after 16,000 koalas have been reported killed in south-east Queensland between 1997 and 2011.

Meanwhile, the Moreton Bay Rail will not open to the riding public mid-2016 as promised due to the kinks on the signalling system. Queensland Rail has recently chosen a $7 million signalling system for the Moreton Bay Rail Link project.