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(Photograph) - Here's looking at you, kids: koalas are worth Aus$1.1 billion (Pounds 490 million) each year to the Australian economy and generate about 9,000 jobs, research reveals. Clive Hamilton of the Australia Institute and Tor Hundloe of the University of Queensland, found that 72 per cent of tourists to Australia hoped to see a koala. The study underlines the economic importance of protecting native fauna and the environment. Wildlife experts believe fewer than 100,000 koalas remain.

Photograph: Telegraph colour library