Symbio to help protect Mount Kembla and Appin koalas with new drone technology

Illawarra's popular wildlife park today announced their three-year-partnership with South32, launching new technology for mapping of the endangered marsupials.

Symbio Wildlife Park marketing manager Kevin Fallon said the partnership was a fantastic effort in protecting the iconic koalas.

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"Here in the Illawarra and the Macarthur, it's believed to be one of the most genetically pure koala populations anywhere in the country," Mr Fallon said.

"Koalas are synonymous with Australia, when people think of Australia, they think of koalas and kangaroos."

The $470,000 grant from South32, Mr Fallon said, will enable Symbio to bring thermal drones into actions along with the development of an educational app for children.

"Over three years which we will be doing extensive surveys of koalas across the entire Mount Kembla region as well as stretching into Appin," he said.

"On top of that we are developing the first-of-its-kind augmented reality educational app which will hopefully be used by students not only across the country but across the world."

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South32 Illawarra Metallurgical Coal Vice President Operations Peter Baker said the launch of the program was a significant step forward for koala conservation.

"We are very excited to partner with Symbio, they do some incredible work in not only wildlife conservation but also in education," Mr Baker said.

"I think it will have benefits right now and also for years to come, they've got some tremendous plans."

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