Koalas are adorable and beloved. Imagine how many less obvious (or "gross") species in similar situations don't get articles written about them. That koala populations can plummet this far should be a clarion call about the state of things.
Mirror: https://archive.is/cZkdM
They are an evolutionary dead end and actually nasty, nasty creatures.
I survived unscathed and asthma fee - a good test of the 'too much hygiene hypothesis' methinks. ;-)
From time to time when I was a kid my parents and relatives used to take me to places where one could cuddle them and I can tell you they're not very cuddly at all.
We tend to anthropomorphize cute animals with big eyes and I reckon that's not good for conservation overall as the ugly get less attention. Moreover, how animals appear isn't a good indicator of their nature. Another well-known example is the loris, it looks really cute but it's a very bad idea to pick one up as you'll get jabbed by its poisoned barb.
Best thing to do is to just look and leave them be. Koalas aren't the only animals suffering habitat loss, many are and it's a huge problem.
+1. Would not cuddle. Australia's minister of tourism one famously proclaimed that the koala is "flea-ridden, it piddles on you, it stinks and it scratches."[4]
Fun Fact: The eucalyptus that Koalas eat is a narcotic and the Koalas spend most of their lives in a drugged out stuppor[2]. Baby Koalas eat their mother's feces[1]. They sleep 18 hours a day. They have a strong musky odor. They also suffer from Chlamydia[3] and many parasites. They are nature's hippies.
More seriously, all of these are evolved traits. E.g. the feces is eaten to acquire the microbes necessary to breakdown the Eucalyptus leaf. The 18 hours of sleeping is because those leaves don't have a lot of caloric content. Rather than being an evolutionary dead end in the traditional sense, their biggest problem is loss of habitat, road accidents, and encounters with dogs. I prefer the world with koalas rather than the world without, but would not cuddle or touch them them.
[1] https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/controversial-science-heal...
[2] https://adventuressetravels.wordpress.com/2013/02/08/drug-ad...
[3] https://www.livescience.com/62517-how-koalas-get-chlamydia.h...
[4] https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1983/05/22/f...
"Yea, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man."
They're not the only ones.
Magpies are much worse. I don't know anyone who hasn't been swooped by one.
Sure, if you know exactly where they are on a regular route you might be able to avoid them by taking a different route.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-09/qld-baby-dies-after-m...
"People injure themselves panicking around Australian Magpies, far more than anything Magpies directly do." sounds just like victim-blaming.
In comparison, koalas just stay in their trees when you walk past.
Of course I'm generalising because the majority of magpies don't swoop and I like hearing their songs. But there are plenty of overly aggressive magpies that do real harm.
"This is it, this is a countdown to extinction"