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Australia has listed koalas as an endangered species across most of its east coast, after a big fall in numbers.

The country's environment minister said that koalas, which had been listed as being vulnerable, would now be listed as endangered in the states of New South Wales, Queensland, and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).

Last year, an inquiry found that koalas would be extinct there by 2050 unless there was urgent action.

Australia's biggest koala conservation group says that there may now be as few as 50,000 of the animals left in the wild.

Recent droughts, heatwaves and bushfires have all been blamed for the declining wild koala population in Australia, as have disease and habitat loss.

The change in status means greater priority will be given to their conservation.

Australia's environment minister, Sussan Ley, said that efforts were already underway to preserve koalas' habitats.

She said officials were designing a recovery plan, and land development applications would now be assessed for impacts on the species.

However, conservationists say that more needs to be done to protect the animals.

Stuart Blanch from WWF-Australia said, "Koalas have gone from no-listing to vulnerable to endangered within a decade. That is a shockingly fast decline.

"Today's decision is welcome, but it won't stop koalas from sliding towards extinction unless it's accompanied by stronger laws and landholder incentives to protect their forest homes," he added.