Artificial drinking stations are key to saving koalas from extinction.
Fewer than 80,000 of the marsupials exist and their natural habitat of eucalyptus forests is being destroyed, according to the Australian Koala Foundation
Their numbers in some areas hit by droughts and heat waves has fallen by 80% over the last two decades.
Experts warn they could be extinct in New South Wales as early as 2050.
The eucalyptus trees they rely on for food are affected by temperature and rainfall changes.
They can’t compensate by eating more leaves because of the toxins inside.
Research from the University of Sydney says that drinking stations can throw the species a lifeline.
Field work in Gunnedah, NSW, where a quarter of the koala population died in a 2009 heatwave, showed that 20 water stations were used 401 times in 12 months.
Dr Valentina Mella, said: “Our results show koalas will regularly use these stations to supplement their needs.”
The stations could prove a useful way to support other leaf-eating animals such as possums and gliders.
Gareth Redmond-King, of WWF said: “One in six species is at risk of extinction as a result of climate change."
