A sick koala found wandering near a housing estate in Queensland had to be sadly put down over Easter because he was emaciated and suffering from chlamydia.

The recent case has prompted warnings from conservation groups who say urban development is killing off the native animals as areas are bulldozed to make way for housing.

Resident Matt Watrach found the male koala while walking at Coomera Waters on the Gold Coast on Saturday and immediately contacted a not-for-profit animal rescue group Wildcare Australia.

'I spotted the koala walking backwards in circles,' Mr Watrach told Daily Mail Australia.

Resident Matt Watrach found the male koala while walking at Coomera Waters on the Gold Coast on Saturday and immediately contacted a not-for-profit animal rescue group Wildcare Australia

'I got a laundry basket to help get it off the road and bottle of water because it look emaciated. It drank half a bottle of water.

'The koala was holding my hand, I was afraid it would slice me. But it just didn’t know what was going on.'

Mr Watrach was pictured giving the sick koala some water to help with the dehydration before wildlife volunteers arrived to take the animal to nearby Currumbin Wildlife Hospital.

But the koala, who vets say was about 10 years old, had to be euthanised after losing half of his body weight and was found to be suffering from conjunctivitis, which was caused by chlamydia.

Mr Watrach said there was a 300 metre stretch of bushland near his house but too many koalas were now living there due to housing developments in the area.

'They're running out of trees to feed from,' he said.

Mr Watrach was pictured giving the sick koala some water to help with the dehydration before wildlife volunteers arrived to take the animal to nearby Currumbin Wildlife Hospital

The koala, who vets say was about 10 years old, had to be euthanised after losing half of his body weight and was found to be suffering from conjunctivitis, which was caused by chlamydia

Resident Matt Watrach found the male koala while walking at Coomera Waters on the Gold Coast on Saturday and immediately contacted a not-for-profit animal rescue group Wildcare Australia

'We have had so many trees cut down, it’s like deforestation. I saw another three koalas in my street that afternoon. There’s too many in a small area.'

Coomera Conservation Group agreed that the koala population was in decline because of recent development.

'I think the recent koala situation yesterday with our local resident Matt was testament to land clearing that’s happening in that area,' Nicole Taylor, a member of the group, told Daily Mail Australia.

'A lot of koalas have been displaced and are moving. It seems that they are becoming territorial and are being defensive around food.

'There's very little we can do at the moment because we can't bring back the bush. But we can protect the current population (of koalas) and lobby the local council around proper planning going forward.'

It comes after heartbreaking photos were released last year showing a starving young koala wandering through a pile of shredded wood in a large development site where the trees she called home once stood

The koala - named Ash - was rescued by the same group Wildcare Australia in October when she was found wandering through an area that had been bulldozed to make way for houses

It comes after heartbreaking photos were released last year showing a starving young koala wandering through a pile of shredded wood in a large development site where the trees she called home once stood.

The koala - named Ash - was rescued by the same group Wildcare Australia in October when she was found wandering through an area that had been bulldozed to make way for houses.

The forest at Pimpama just north of the Gold Coast would have been the koala's home range once she became independent from her mother.

It is close to where Mr Watrach found the sick koala at the weekend.

'There is now nothing left for her to return to,' Wildcare Australia said at the time.

'This is a sight that saddens us deeply as not only has Ash lost her home but thousands of other animals including birds, reptiles, kangaroos, wallabies, bandicoots, bats and echidnas also called the area "home".

Forest at Pimpama just north of the Gold Coast would have been the koala's (pictured bottom right) home range since she became independent from her mother

'Many of those animals would have no doubt have lost their life during this mass clearing exercise.'

The koala was thirsty and exhausted when she was found by rescue worker Ashley Fraser. She was taken to Currumbin Wildlife Hospital for a full health assessment.

The forest area cleared is part of the East Coomera-Pimpama urban development by Gold Coast City Council.

A koala conservation project set up by the council estimated there were about 500 koalas living in the 3,640 hectare area.

About 1,000 hectares of this area is already committed for development in association with the Coomera Town Centre.

The conservation project says it aims to move the most at-risk koalas from areas where habitat will be cleared to areas of secure habitat.