T J Bergin Editor (1 results)
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Seller: Epilonian Books, Manhattan Beach, CA, U.S.A.Epilonian Books
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Paperback. Condition: Good. Zoological Parks Board of N.S.W, 1978. NOTE: Softcover (same ISBN), 239 pp. First edition. In good condition. Pictorial paper covers have light bumping and creasing to edges and corners and light overall scuffing and soiling, with a bit of the color scuffed off along edges and spine. Spine creased but… binding is still solid. Pages lightly aged but otherwise unmarked. NOT Ex-Library. NO remainder marks. Black and white illustrations, maps, charts. [From Editor's Preface] Although most Australians have never seen a wild koala, all know it from its portraits, from television, or from seeing it in a zoo or wildlife park. It has come to enjoy an almost unique degree of protection, after being intensively hunted in the early decades of this century. Its recovery is, in fact, one of the few "success stories" of Australian conservation. But the koala is, at the same time, one of the least studied of the larger marsupials, for the complete ban upon its exploitation has been applied to zoology as well as commerce. Almost all systematic studies have been carried out by officers of, or dependants upon, government departments, and the fragments of knowledge have never been gathered together. It seemed timely to find out where we stood, and which studies were most needed in order to base the future conservation o the koala firmly upon scientific knowledge. Accordingly, the first Taronga Symposium was convened, and to our gratification over forty people having first-hand knowledge of some aspect of koala biology were brought together. The papers presented here show how much we have learned in recent years, but also how little we know. The koala's fastidious food preferences, for example, remain too complex to be understood with our present attitudes and techniques. Its digestive processes, and the role of micro-organisms in them need much more study. Koalas have been bred in captivity, but only rarely, and the factors determining success or failure have not been clarified. The most significant outcome of our gathering was the unanimous agreement that the koala is no longer an endangered species. This is not to imply that it should be allowed to fall from its pedestal, but it does imply that koalas can be studied freely, without placing the large, growing populations at risk. Unless they are studied, all populations of koalas are in danger, in the longterm view. Although a patchwork, this is an unusually broad treatment of a single species. We hope that the gaps and inadequacies will stimulate further work and result, some day, in another more complete account of koala biology, medicine and conservation.
