The 2024 South Australia Great Koala Count
From November 16th to 23rd, South Australia recorded a boom in koala sightings as part of the 2024 South Australia Great Koala Count! This statewide citizen science event was a partnership between the National Koala Monitoring Program (NKMP), Flinders University, the South Australian Government and the Australian Government, and was created to engage the public in koala research, increase awareness of the Koala Spotter app, and encourage everyone to get outside and count koalas. It was a true team effort, showcasing the importance of our continued partnerships across the state and Australia.
The week kicked off with a fun-filled public community event hosted by members of the NKPM and Flinders University at beautiful Belair National Park. This park provides a large area of relatively undisturbed and protected native eucalyptus forest, which is essential habitat for koalas. As luck would have it, a few sleepy koalas were hanging out in some nearby trees, giving everyone the chance to enjoy these animals and learn about them at the same time! At the launch, the NKMP showcased the many ways we find and count koalas, including drones, visual surveys, and detection dogs. We also got great questions from the public about the Koala Spotter App and koala ecology. People were particularly interested to learn about the crucial role of citizen science data in koala research, and how the NKMP coordinates with local koala monitoring and conservation organisations.
During the week-long event, the NKMP hosted a friendly online competition among our citizen scientists to see who could spot the most koalas, with the SA GKC website keeping a live count on a statewide leaderboard. Well done to everyone who got outside and contributed koala data!
Statistics for the event
49
Koala surveys submitted
298
Koala sightings submitted
347
Total reports submitted during the event
Leaderboard
The leaderboard is based on the effort of participants. Effort is calculated using a number of factors including koala sightings, koala survey submissions, time spent surveying etc.
| Rank | Username | Sightings | Surveys | Effort |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BrownSnake_337691 | 18 | 0 | 1605 |
| 2 | Platypus_504571 | 28 | 0 | 1590 |
| 3 | Cassowary_242560 | 10 | 0 | 840 |
| 4 | Dingo_525196 | 0 | 5 | 750 |
| 5 | SaltwaterCrocodile_463734 | 13 | 6 | 690 |
| 5 | GreenTreeFrog_842484 | 31 | 0 | 690 |
| 7 | SugarGlider_723789 | 4 | 9 | 615 |
| 8 | Dugong_520107 | 1 | 7 | 465 |
| 9 | Bilby_641147 | 10 | 6 | 420 |
| 10 | FairyPenguin_471734 | 0 | 4 | 300 |
We also had the opportunity to meet with members of the local koala monitoring and research community at a special event hosted by Karen Burke da Silva, Flinders University Professor of Biodiversity and Conservation and Koala Conservation Hub lead. This was a wonderful opportunity for members of the SA koala community to connect and exchange ideas. Discussions ranged from innovative koala tracking technologies to the broader implications of koala research for understanding woodland ecosystems in South Australia.
Ultimately, the SA Great Koala Count was a major success. 206 new members signed up to Koala Spotter during the week of the event, resulting in a total of 1975 registered users with the app as of the end of November. Given these outstanding results, the NKMP plans to run similar events in different regions and states in the future, to help gain even more data about these furry icons.
