THIS PHOTO CHANGED EVERYTHING: THE RETURN OF CHLAMYDIA-FREE BOORUBEE (KOALAS) TO MINYUMAI IPA \

For years, Minyumai Rangers feared the worst.

After the 2019–20 bushfires tore through northern New South Wales, close to 90 per cent of Minyumai Indigenous Protected Area (IPA), south of Evans Head, was left fire damaged. Boorubee, the koalas that had long lived on Country, were nowhere to be seen.

For the Traditional Owners of Minyumai, the Bandjalang people, that absence was deeply felt. Boorubee are not just a species. They are part of story, songline and responsibility. Protecting them has been a cultural commitment carried across generations.

That commitment was tested after fire, highway upgrades and years of pressure on Country. By 2019, the last confirmed sighting of a koala at Minyumai was already a year old. Rangers worried Boorubee had either perished in the fires or been pushed away.

Then, one photo changed everything.

A moment caught on camera

In June 2023, Minyumai Rangers were doing what they had done countless times before, checking images from their camera traps. The cameras had been set to quietly watch Country overnight, capturing whatever passed through.

As Senior Women Ranger Maitland Wilson remembers, the moment came without warning.

“We had sensor cameras out and we were just going through the files, seeing what was there the week before,” she said.

“And then we came across the koala. I’m like freaking out. A koala. We had no idea they were here.”

The koala in the image was later nicknamed Rubee. For rangers who had feared Boorubee were gone, the sighting was overwhelming.

“They were here once upon a time, but the highway pushed them away and the fires from earlier years. That’s why there’s low density,” Maitland said. “But the day we found it, we were just so stoked.”

That single image confirmed what the community had hoped for but could not prove: Boorubee had survived and were still on Country.

A responsibility renewed

For Maitland, the discovery was more than a scientific breakthrough. It reaffirmed a cultural responsibility that runs deep.

“I knew from right then and there that I wanted to protect them,” she said. “I wanted them to come back onto Country and conserve them here, and give them the trees and the habitat trees that they needed.”

That determination helped drive the Boorubee Monitoring and Recovery Project, led by Minyumai’s women rangers. The work focuses on restoring habitat, caring for Country and ensuring Boorubee can live and move safely across the landscape.

The project builds on a long‑held cultural understanding that Boorubee must be protected. Language teacher and cultural advisor Simone Barker explains that this responsibility has been passed down for generations. ]

“I grew up eating a lot of wild food, water, fish and animals,” she said. “But not once did we ever hunt Boorubee because we were told.”

“That’s a really old story. It got handed down, and we still follow that story and respect it to this day. We are not allowed to harm Boorubee. We always look after them and protect them.”

Healing Country for Boorubee

Since the discovery of Ruby, Minyumai Rangers have been working steadily to restore and strengthen koala habitat across the IPA.

So far, they have planted 2,500 koala food and shelter trees. They have mapped existing habitat, cleared lantana and other invasive weeds, and opened pathways so Boorubee can move more freely between trees.

Ranger Supervisor Harry Wilson describes the work as both practical and deeply meaningful.

“Boorubee is important to us. Our many fellow koalas, the songlines and Dreaming stories, having them out here means something really special,” he said.

A key part of that work is cultural burning. Fire is used carefully and deliberately to reduce fuel loads, manage weeds and support healthy regeneration.

“With cultural burning, it helps Boorubee walk through Country easier, and other animals too,” Harry said. “Having that connection to Country and doing it the way our ancestors did it feels really good.”

The benefits extend beyond koalas. By restoring native vegetation and caring for Country as a whole, rangers are supporting healthier ecosystems across Minyumai.

Technology guided by culture

While cultural knowledge leads the work, modern technology plays an important supporting role.

To better understand how many koalas remained on Country, Minyumai Rangers commissioned thermal drone surveys. Flying at night and early morning, the drones detected heat signatures high in the trees.

“That’s been a big help,” Maitland said. “To actually look for them and now that we know they’re around here somewhere.”

The surveys identified nine koalas across Minyumai IPA.

At first light, rangers visited those locations to collect koala scats, which were sent for analysis.

The results brought another moment of relief.

“We got positive results back, and the Boorubee that live on Minyumai are all chlamydia‑free,” Maitland said.

“Oh, that just makes me feel so warm‑hearted. It makes me feel positive about the next generation of koalas living on Minyumai. It’s amazing.”

In northern New South Wales, some koala populations have infection rates approaching 80 per cent. Knowing Minyumai’s koalas were not only present but healthy reinforced the importance of protecting this refuge.

Simone sees this combination of Knowledge systems as essential.

“Combining Traditional Knowledge with modern technology is gold standard for regenerating nature,” she said. “That’s why supporting Indigenous‑led restoration is crucial if we’re to pull koalas back from the brink of extinction.”

A sanctuary on Country

Minyumai IPA offers something increasingly recognised as a vital aspect of Regenerating Nature: space, safety and care led by Traditional Owners.

“Boorubee is very important to all Aboriginal people,” Simone said. “Minyumai is a sanctuary for them. It’s a place where we can hopefully keep them protected from roads, from people, from animals like dogs.”

“Hopefully they’ll thrive out here. That’s what we want.”

WWF‑Australia is supporting the Boorubee Monitoring and Recovery Project, with funding assistance from furniture brand Koala, grounded in a shared belief that the future of conservation is shaped through innovation, deep collaboration and co‑design with First Nations partners. Together, WWF-Australia and Koala are committed to backing the Indigenous‑led conservation work already underway, recognising that lasting outcomes come from resourcing community‑driven work on Country.

As Simone notes, “The rangers have done the hard yards in leading this important work. Furniture brand Koala and WWF have been helping to celebrate the success of this wonderful project.”

A story of hope

For Minyumai Rangers, the return of Boorubee is a reminder of what is possible when Country is cared for with patience, knowledge and respect.

From a single camera trap image to healthy, chlamydia‑free koalas moving through restored habitat, the story of Boorubee at Minyumai is one of resilience.

It is also a reminder that Indigenous‑led conservation is not just about protecting species. It is about maintaining culture, strengthening connection to Country and ensuring future generations inherit landscapes that are alive.