Last month, Sasha informed us about the alarming state of the grizzly and black bears as their main food, salmon, are diminishing.
This week, another type of bear is threatened by climate change – the koala bear.

AFP reports that the cute cuddly creatures could be extinct in 30 years. The Australian Koala Foundation indicated in a recent survey that numbers have plunged by more than half in the past six years due to climate change, disease and over-development.

"We're saying (numbers) could be as low as 43,000 and as high as 80,000” Foundation chief Deborah Tabart told public broadcaster ABC Radio.

Large numbers have been killed by disease while others have been affected by loss of habitat due to deforestation and climate change. Hotter, drier conditions have reduced the nutritional value of their staple food, eucalyptus leaves, leading to fatal malnutrition, Tabart said.

Conservationists are calling for the iconic creatures to be declared an endangered species.