Koalas are not technically 'endangered' but they are threatened and they are declining throughout their range. Aboriginal people also hunted koalas for fur and food. Since european settlement threats to the koala have greatly increased. Domestic dogs and foxes prey on koalas. Koalas are killed on the roads by motorcars.
Habitat destruction is the major threat to koalas.
At the beginning of this century, koalas were shot for their furs and approximately 3 million koala skins were exported to the United States from Australia. These people are very dedicated to the protection and conservation of koalas and they usually dedicate their lives to rehabilitating koalas so they can be put back in the wild. Unfortunately, most of the wild habitats where koalas live are not protected and therefore are not 'safe' forever from development. Most of the koala's remaining habitat is on privately owned land in Australia so the koalas rely on the people who own that land to protect their trees for the future. The Australian Koala Foundation plans to write a National Koala Act which will encourage landholders who own koala habitat to protect it and to minimise threats like cars and dogs.