An Australian sanctuary cancels the "koala hugging" activity
For many tourists, taking photos with koalas is a must-do activity in Australia. However, starting from July, the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, announced the cancellation of this activity in order to better protect koalas.
Koalas, also known as koala bears, mainly live in eucalyptus forests in Australia. According to a BBC report on the 4th, Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary is known as the world's first koala sanctuary. Lynden Discombe, manager of the sanctuary, said that canceling the "holding koala" activity is actually a response to tourists' calls, and he is happy to see that more and more tourists are willing to just observe them up close and let them eat, sleep and relax in their own space.
Local animal protection organizations said that in the wild, koalas are solitary nocturnal animals that sleep most of the day. When they encounter humans, they often choose to avoid them.
Koalas are in decline due to bushfires, drought, disease and other factors, and some groups estimate that there may be around 50,000 koalas left in the wild in Australia.
Koala protection policies vary across Australia. In Queensland, koalas are still allowed to be held. However, the state government has set a "work" schedule for koalas, such as a koala cannot "work" for three consecutive days, the daily "work" time cannot exceed 30 minutes, and the total weekly time cannot exceed 180 minutes.
