WHAT WAS CLAIMED
A photo shows koalas that were killed by a wind farm development.
OUR VERDICT
False. The koalas' deaths were unrelated to renewable energy.
AAP FACTCHECK - Social media users are claiming a photo shows a mass grave of koalas killed by a wind farm development, but the animals' deaths were unrelated to renewable energy.
The photographer who took the image told AAP FactCheck the koalas died from starvation, dog attacks, illness and being hit by vehicles - not wind farms.
The image appears in multiple Facebook posts, including one that states: "Our beautiful koalas killed clearing land for wind turbines and solar farms as well as a lot of other species.
"But being green and environmentally friendly only matters when the real consequences are not shown."
"Look at some of the dead Koalas," another post reads.
"They get bashed on the back of their heads. People do you approve of Labor hiding this from us for renewables?"
The post has also been shared on X, where one user claims the koalas were "killed while clearing for wind turbine access road".
However, the koala deaths have nothing to do with any renewable energy project.
The image first appeared on social media in May 2025 in a post by Wildlife Rescue Sunshine Coast & Barefoot on the Ground - a wildlife rescue and education centre in Queensland - intended to raise awareness about koalas being killed by land clearing.
"KOALAS ARE DYING BECAUSE OF RAMPANT LAND CLEARING, AND WHO GIVES A DAMN? EXTINCT IS FOREVER," the post says.
In the comments, the page's administrator clarifies that the koalas shown in the photo died from "disease, injuries, starvation" in Queensland's Somerset region, inland of Brisbane.
"When animals die in care very often carers will place their bodies in a freezer and then bury them when the freezer is full. This hole was dug by a backhoe for the carer," the admin says in the comment.
Claire Smith, chief executive of Barefoot on the Ground, told AAP FactCheck none of the koalas died as a result of wind farms or land clearing, and the image was taken by koala expert Charlie Lewis.
"This is a true and verifiable record, and any other claim is false and should be regarded as disinformation," Ms Smith said.
When contacted, Ms Lewis confirmed she took the image and that the koala deaths were unrelated to any renewable energy project.
She said the koalas had all died in Toogoolawah and the Somerset region from being hit by cars, starvation, dog attacks or disease.
"We don't have wind farms here," Ms Lewis told AAP FactCheck.
She said land clearing was an issue affecting koalas in the region, but that this was mostly due to housebuilding, not renewable energy.
Ms Lewis explained that injured koalas that have to be euthanised are stored in a morgue and later buried in a group on a farmer's property, which is what is shown in the image.
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