Koalas and Dog Attacks: Statistics, Injuries and Why Immediate Vet Care Matters

A dog attack on a koala is a veterinary emergency, even when the koala appears to walk away unharmed. The wounds left by a dog attack are almost always far more serious than they look on the surface. Puncture wounds penetrate deep into tissue, introduce bacteria, and can cause fatal infections within hours if left untreated. Any koala that has been attacked by a dog needs to be seen by a wildlife vet as soon as possible. Contact a koala rescue organisation immediately and they will arrange assessment and transport to a veterinary clinic like Adelaide Koala & Wildlife Centre (if here in South Australia).

Below, you can learn more about the impact dog attacks have on koalas and why urgent veterinary care is so important for their survival.

Found a Koala? What to Do and When to Call for Help?  Read here to find out the steps you need to take to help a koala.

A patient of ours - no visible injuries, but large puncture wounds all over the body were found under examination. The internal injuries were so great, he could not be saved.

Dog Attacks on Koalas: Mortality and What the Data Shows

The numbers below highlight the devastating impact dog attacks have on koalas and why immediate veterinary care is so critical to their recovery and survival.

• A decade-long southeast Queensland dataset found that approximately 15 percent of recorded koala mortalities within the study sample were attributed to dog attacks, ranking behind vehicle strikes and disease (Rhodes et al., 2011).

• Within the same dataset, dog attacks accounted for roughly 27 percent of koala hospital admissions, second only to disease-related presentations (Rhodes et al., 2011).

• Mortality among admitted dog attack cases was high, with close to 40 percent dying either prior to admission or shortly after.

• Among surviving koalas, injuries ranged from superficial puncture wounds to deep tissue trauma and fractures, with a small proportion sustaining severe systemic injury (Rhodes et al., 2011).

• A 12-year study in New South Wales reported that approximately 25 percent of recorded koala deaths within the study region were due to dog attacks (Lunney et al., 2012).

• In urbanised areas within that study region, dog attacks accounted for over 40 percent of recorded koala deaths, demonstrating increased risk in human-dominated landscapes (Lunney et al., 2012).

• Organisational hospital data from Victoria reported that approximately 18 percent of koala admissions in some regional datasets were due to dog attacks, with mortality rates frequently exceeding 50 percent due to crushing injuries and internal trauma (Koala Conservation Australia, 2018).

• Wildlife trauma data likely underestimates the true impact of dog attacks, as not all injured animals are located or admitted for care. Under-reporting of wildlife injury events is acknowledged in animal welfare literature (Sharp & Saunders, 2011).
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Clinical Evidence from Our Koala Admissions

 
The physical damage inflicted on koalas by dogs can be placed into three categories: 

• superficial wounds
• deep tissue wounds
• systemic injuries 

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• Superficial wounds encompass abrasions, contusions, or minor lacerations, typically manifesting on the koala's extremities, face, and rump.  Whilst they may not seem concerning, they can cause considerable distress to the animal and pave the way for bacterial infections (Goldstein et al., 2012).  Further information on this infection is below.

• Deep tissue wounds include punctures, lacerations, and tears that infiltrate the muscle and other deeper tissues. These often compromise the koala's thorax and abdomen, occasionally leading to internal organ perforation. These wounds can also cause fractures, particularly of the ribs or leg bones (Tribe et al., 2014).

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• Systemic injuries   involve severe internal trauma that can lead to shock, often caused by significant blood loss or major organ damage. Koalas may develop breathing difficulties due to internal bleeding or injury to the lungs, and blunt force trauma from a dog attack can also cause head, spinal or neurological injuries that affect movement, coordination or consciousness.  Koala survival even with treatment is low. 

A patient brought to us after a dog attack. He did not survive.

You can support our free wildlife veterinary care by donating directly at our donation page.
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Bacterial Infections due to dog bites

A dog attack causes more than visible wounds. A koala may appear to have only minor puncture injuries, but bacteria introduced through a dog’s saliva can lead to serious internal infection. The most commonly involved bacteria include Pasteurella multocida, Staphylococcus species and Streptococcus species. These organisms can rapidly multiply in damaged tissue and spread through the bloodstream (Tribe et al., 2014).

Infections may not be obvious immediately. By the time signs such as lethargy, loss of appetite, swelling, fever or breathing difficulty develop, the infection may already be advanced and significantly harder to treat.

These bacteria are capable of causing cellulitis, abscess formation, pneumonia, septicemia and, in severe cases, life threatening systemic complications (Garcia et al., 2020).  Sometimes, the infection cannot be treated by vets - its too advanced.  Euthanasia is required to relieve suffering.
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All dog attacks require urgent veterinary assessment, even if injuries appear minor. There are no exceptions.

Eliza was attacked by a dog and spent a week undergoing vet medical care. She was successfully released to the wild.

How Injured Koalas Are Treated

 
Veterinary treatment for dog-attacked koalas should be immediate and thorough. This is why, every koala that has been in contact with a dog needs to be seen by a vet.  Here at our Adelaide vet clinic, we provide the following care:

• Initial wound management entails cleaning the wound, removing necrotic tissue, and closure, if deemed suitable. 
• Providing appropriate antibiotics play  a critical role in treating and preventing secondary infections. 
• Pain relief and intravenous fluids are generally given to rectify dehydration.  

Koalas that survive dog attacks often need long-term care and rehabilitation. Healing can be a long process and during this recuperation period, regular monitoring of wounds, body condition, and behaviour is vital - all done under close vet supervision. Our Adelaide veterinary clinic will work closely with carers and rescuers to do our very best for these koalas.
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When koalas are attacked by dogs, the injuries are often so severe that veterinarians face the heartbreaking decision of euthanasia.
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• A study by Lunney et al. (2012) revealed that in many cases, euthanasia was necessary due to the extent of the injuries or the poor quality of life the koala would face even with treatment. The researchers found that many koalas brought in after dog attacks were in such critical condition that euthanasia was the most humane option.

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• Similarly, Rhodes et al. (2011) reported that around 40% of koalas admitted to hospitals after dog attacks either died at the scene or shortly after, underscoring the severity of these incidents.​​

It costs $7,500 to treat one dog attack victim

Every koala that survives a dog attack does so because of donations from people like you. Can you help fund the next one?

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Hannah, who did survive a dog attack after weeks in care with us. She also had a joey in her pouch.

Matted coat on stomach is dog saliva, and indicative of where the puncture wounds are.

How can these attacks be prevented?

Preventing dog attacks on koalas necessitates responsible pet ownership, community education, and habitat management (Lunney et al., 2012).

• Responsible pet ownership plays a critical role in reducing dog attacks on koalas. Keeping dogs securely confined at night is especially important, as koalas are primarily nocturnal and many attacks occur after dark (Rhodes et al., 2011).

• Research in southeast Queensland found that restricting free roaming dogs in high risk areas significantly reduced koala injuries, with one study reporting reductions of up to 73 percent following targeted management measures (Dique et al., 2003).

• Community education initiatives have shown that increasing owner awareness improves compliance with pet management regulations and reduces wildlife conflict (McAlpine et al., 2015).

• Previous programs such as “Leave It”, a Redlands City Council and Griffith University initiative, focused on improving dog aversion to koalas and shifting community attitudes toward wildlife protection.

• Many owners believe their dog would not harm wildlife. However, dogs can behave unpredictably when unsupervised, particularly in instinct driven chase situations.

• Habitat management strategies, including designated no dog zones in key koala habitat, wildlife aware signage and community engagement campaigns, have been shown to reduce dog koala interactions (Rhodes et al., 2011).

• Enforcement of responsible pet ownership laws, including penalties for non compliance, also plays an important deterrent role (Sharp & Saunders, 2011).

• Preventing dog attacks requires coordinated action from pet owners, local councils, planners and the wider community.

This joey was attacked by 2 dogs on a private property. Despite intensive care, she did not survive her injuries. The owners believed their dogs would not hurt koalas.

How can you help koalas who have been attacked?

Dog attacks pose a formidable threat to koalas' welfare and survival. Immediate veterinary care, all-inclusive treatment plans, extended rehabilitation, and preventive measures are all integral to addressing this issue.

At Adelaide Koala & Wildlife Centre we provide free vet care and the average cost of a koala admission after a dog attack, is estimated to cost us around $7,500 per koala. 
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SUPPORT WILDLIFE CARE

Koalas injured in dog attacks need urgent medical treatment. If you’d like to help support free wildlife veterinary care in Adelaide and across South Australia, please visit our donation page or wish list.
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Kimmy the koala - she jumped onto a dog! She was uninjured. We don't know what happened to the dog.

This article was updated February 2026

References:
 
Dique, D. S., et al. (2003). Koala mortality on roads in south-east Queensland: The koala speed-zone trial. Wildlife Research, 30(4), 419–42.Ellis, W., et al. (2010). The role of bioacoustic signals in koala sexual selection: Insights from seasonal patterns of associations revealed with GPSProximity units. PLOS ONE, 5(8), e11366.
Garcia, A. L. M., et al. (2020). Pasteurella multocida: Infections and genomic structure. Microorganisms, 8(2), 270.
Goldstein, E. J. C., et al. (2012). Bite wound infections. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 54(3), 364–366.
Koala Conservation Australia. (2018). Annual report. Koala Hospital, Port Macquarie.
Lunney, D., et al. (2012). Koalas and the community: Local attitudes and perceptions. In Conserving central Queensland's koalas (pp. 17–35). Koala Research Centre of Central Queensland, Rockhampton, Australia.
Rhodes, J. R., et al. (2011). Using integrated population modelling to quantify the implications of multiple threatening processes for a rapidly declining population. Biological Conservation, 144(3), 1081–1088.
Sharp, T., & Saunders, G. (2011). A model for assessing the relative humaneness of pest animal control methods. Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
Thomson, G. R., et al. (2016). Monitoring bacterial genetic resistance to the marsupial antimicrobial peptide, macropin. Scientific Reports, 6, 32914.
Tribe, A., et al. (2014). Koala hospital. HarperCollins Publishers.