I just happened to look around and there was a little koala walking along, all on its own, just cruising along," she said.

"I loved it, it was brilliant to see.

"I kept my distance and quietly took a few photos as it cruised past and then it turned around and went up a pine tree."

Ms Hodge said she had seen koalas near the beach before, but not very often.

"I've seen a couple of koalas around that beach area before, I've been walking there for a long time. I worry about dogs," she said.

"I've helped them across the road, I've walked with them, and had to stop traffic."

The assistant clinical director of the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital, Scott Castle, said volunteers from the organisation went out to check on the koala, which was seen still sitting in the pine tree.

"It was a small male, and seemed to be in good health," he said.

"Most of the time koalas know exactly where they are and they are on the way to their next food tree, or in search of other koalas."

Koala habitat loss a concern:

The photo sparked a raft of comments on social media and highlighted ongoing concerns about habitat loss and the increasing sightings of koalas in urban areas and away from trees.

Helen Davies posted on Facebook: "This is really sad".

"Trees being cleared like there's no tomorrow.

"For our beautiful, territorial, endangered koalas, there are not too many tomorrows left."

Aylee Rankine wrote: "I find this heartbreaking more than anything, looking for a tree to call home".

Jane Maree Bagley also posted: "Council should plan for increases in habitat … Koalas should be top priority!!"

Mr Castle said habitat loss and declining koala numbers in parts of Australia were huge issues.

"Habitat loss is the number-one concern for animal declines worldwide," he said.

"We need to retain existing trees; there are a lot of koalas that use them.

"If we take the food trees out one at a time from our front yards, it's death by a thousand cuts.

"We also need to plant new food trees for the future."

Koalas more active during breeding season

Mr Castle also said koalas would be more active during the coming spring breeding season.

He urged people to be on the lookout and take care when driving.

"During breeding season we are more likely to see koalas where we wouldn't usually see them during the year," he said.

Source | ABC