Koala: A Historical Biography - Hardcover

This work embraces the story of the koala in Australian history of science and society. It examines the animal€™s long seclusion from discovery (1803); its slow penetration of the European classificatory system and the part played by British and European experts; its emergence, description and depiction in Australia, the important marriage of science and art; the role of the Aborigines; koala destruction through settlement and hunting in the 19th century and its rise as a national identity around Federation. In the 20th century, the focus shifts to the koala in Australian literature; the advent of the nature park, zoos, transportation, resettlement, and protection by key individuals and organizations; koala as cartoon and political favorite; the surprisingly slow growth of research on the animal€™s biology and the dynamic change in knowledge from the 1990s. The book is studded with key scientific figures and some excellent, widely sourced, pictorial material.<