KOALAS have been known to move around the Hamilton CBD regularly and locals have been reminded to let them be as they travel from place to place.

Blessings of the Bush Koala Shelter owner/operator, Janet Murray, told The Spectator it wasn’t unusual to see them moving around the area at all times of the day, and the simple rule for them was to “give them space”.

She said she wasn’t surprised with the locations of recent koala sightings on Kennedy Street and Pope Street.

“We’ve always had a population in Hamilton,” she said.

“There’s a bit of a crossover area there for koalas - they tend to crossover somewhere at the back of the Cally.

“They can often go down and cross back over to the Grange Burn - they know their whole area that they live in.

“We often have them at the post office because they go to the Gray Street School.”

Ms Murray said while most of the response to their movement should be passive, there were some active actions to take in terms of limiting other animals and human movement.

“Definitely keep dogs away from them,” she said.

“(Also) the more people that get near them and things like that - they can get stressed.”

After attending too many dog attacks, Ms Murray said that people who find injured koalas can contact her on 0427 002 292 or the Wildlife Victoria hotline on (03) 8400 7300.