‘Diverse genetics’: Queensland researchers hope Jagger the koala will help protect his species

Pilot program breeds koalas with high genetic merit' for release into the wild to improve populations

Dogs, diseases and droughts - aided and abetted by land clearing and bushfires - have pushed vulnerable koala populations into rapid decline.

It is now hoped that a two-year-old koala named Jagger can help secure the fate of endangered colonies along Australia's east coast.