Resident says wildlife dying as area expands
HAS Canungra reached breaking point as far as new major developments go?
Amongst a growing number saying “enough is enough” is Sue Kenna who says she’s now contemplating packing her bags and leaving after living in the area for the past 14 years.
The Pine Street resident says she came to Canungra after falling in love with its natural beauty and its abundant wildlife.
Her concerns about the changing nature of the area were heightened in the last few months after she has watched on as hectares of land adjacent to her home were cleared.
The levelling was done to prepare for the construction of 150 homes for the Serenitas Over 50’s Community project.
Sue now says the wildlife that surrounded her home has vanished and that’s included a thriving koala colony.
She claims that as the trees were getting bulldozed she could hear a koala screaming.
“It’s a sound I won’t ever forget,” she said.
Her koala claim has been denied by workers on the site at the time, but there is no denying the fact the koalas that were once there have been forced to move on.
Traffic also an issue
Sue said it hasn’t just been the wildlife issue that was making her contemplate moving.
“For the past three years I have been working as one of the lollipop traffic wardens at the crossing outside Canungra State School and in that time the traffic has trebled,” she said.
“It’s just bedlam getting around anywhere here now,” she said.
In a seperate koala incident wildlife carers were recently called in to rescue a koala that had become trapped at the top of an electricity pole.
The pole was also located near the proposed Over 50s resort site on Finch Road.
Residents including former wildlife carer Gary Robertson came to the aid of the koala and coaxed it down using swimming pool poles,
Phil Campbell who assisted with Nina Hanley said the koala was strong, but it was malnourished and had a bad eye with conjunctivitis.
It was taken away for specialist treatment and to be later released.
Council’s koala concerns
Scenic Rim Council has a dedicated team of officers who are charged with the vigilant management and protection of koalas.
In response to the growing threats faced by endangered koala populations they recently launched a project labelled “Saving koalas through community action in the Scenic Rim”.
The project aims to inform future conservation efforts by generating needed information about koalas including their genetics and the diseases they suffer from.
As part of the project, council engaged trained community volunteers to find, identify, and collect wild koala scat (poo) samples from across the Scenic Rim.
