3 June 2024
IS THIS AUSTRALIA’S MOST FAMOUS KOALA? MEET CLAUDE THE KOALA.
Meet Claude the koala, dubbed the ‘leaf thief’ after he was caught green-handed in July 2023, munching on eucalypt seedlings at the Eastern Forest Nursery near Lismore that were intended to be planted for native wildlife in the area.
His antics attracted worldwide attention, even landing him in the BBC news!
Here’s the story of Claude the koala and how his nursery raids have highlighted the desperate need for more koala habitat, and how WWF-Australia’s generous supporters helped get the first of many seedlings into the ground.
July 2023
Claude the koala first caught raiding the nursery, eating 4,050 tree seedlings.
One morning, we came to work and there was an area of eucalypts that had freshly been munched by something. We noticed there was a koala clinging onto the pole next to the tables where the seedlings had been eaten. That was the first time we realised that a koala was actually causing damage to the seedlings in the nursery. I would never have believed it was a koala until I’d seen him actually sitting there on the pole.
Noticing the koala’s large claws, Humphrey aptly named him ‘Claude’. Despite relocating him a few hundred metres down the road to a big tree, Claude was back two days later tucking back into the seedlings.
September 2023
Claude's antics go viral worldwide after WWF-Australia shares the news with the media, propelling the cheeky koala into superstardom.
Not many can say they landed themselves on BBC News, but Claude can! While Claude’s story is amusing, it highlights the desperate need for more koala habitat.
The surviving munched seedlings were donated to WWF-Australia and the 'Claude’s Lunch Leftovers’ fundraiser was set up to help cover the costs of getting them planted in the ground.
These seedlings are well watered and fertilised and are top-shelf food for a koala. Claude has developed champagne tastes and with his what-are-you-looking-at attitude has decided not to be denied. This behaviour shows that we need to scale up our work, which we’re doing through our Koala Friendly Carbon program. We’re planting thousands of trees and hopefully, the koalas can wait for them to grow a bit before consuming them.
November 2023
Claude invites his partner in crime to the nursery buffet, as a koala mother and her joey are also caught having an all-you-can-eat feast.
WWF installed two cameras in the nursery following the discovery of Claude’s leafy raids. To everyone’s surprise, it turns out the nursery’s all-you-can-eat buffet was being enjoyed by more than just one cheeky koala!
Sensor cameras captured Claude’s ‘partner in crime’- a mother koala and her joey also feeding on the juicy eucalypt seedlings at night.
Claude was also caught on camera back at the scene of the crime having a munch on the weekend.
April 2024
The first of Claude's lunch leftover seedlings are planted!
Thanks to the incredible generosity of our supporters, much-needed funding was raised to help cover the costs of getting Claude’s leftover seedlings planted. In April, the first of 6,000 seedlings that were donated to WWF-Australia were planted at a community tree-planting day.
Despite the efforts to get these munched seedlings in the ground, Claude has still been caught on camera, cleverly finding ways to sneak through the new fence that was built at the nursery.
Claude and his friends raiding the nursery to eat seedlings shows they’re desperate for food trees. This area in the Northern Rivers, especially around Lismore, is heavily cleared and it's really missing good quality habitat for them. We need to plant more trees and urgently stop tree-clearing, especially around the Northern Rivers, which is a stronghold for koala populations in New South Wales.
There are still plenty of plantings to come, but in the meantime, we’re keeping a close eye on Claude and his friends and working to ensure our precious koalas have a safe place to call home.
Through WWF-Australia’s Koalas Forever Program, we are working with local communities, Traditional Owners and Indigenous Rangers, to deliver habitat restoration and revegetation projects in the area. WWF-Australia is working together with local landholders.
How can you help koalas like Claude?
- Help plant Claude’s lunch leftovers! Donations of $10 per tree will help cover the costs of getting these seedlings in the ground.
- Make a tax-deductible donation. Your generosity will help plant trees, protect remaining forests, and help campaign for stronger nature laws to protect our precious wildlife.
- Sign the petition urging the Australian Government for stronger nature laws that will bring our threatened animals, including east coast koalas, back from the brink of extinction.