CANBERRA, Australia — Residents of Australia's drought-ravaged east coast were urged Wednesday to leave buckets of water underneath trees because koalas are dropping dead of thirst.

The much-loved marsupials have been found dead under trees or drinking from garden hoses because of lack of rain, the international conservation group Australian Koala Foundation warned.

Koalas usually get all the water they need from the eucalyptus leaves they feed on but not during drought conditions.

"In arid conditions, the toxicity of the leaves increases and fluid content reduces, making them unappealing to the palate of the koala," foundation executive director Deborah Tabart said in a statement. "Consequently, the koala's already fussy diet is severely restricted."

She urged people living near koala colonies to put buckets of water under their trees on hot days to prevent the furry animals that spend most of their lives asleep in tree forks from being hit by cars or attacked by dogs as they search for a drink.

The foundation has urged the federal government to list koalas as an endangered species, in a bid to curb the tree clearing that it predicts will rid the east coast of koalas within 15 years.

The foundation estimates 10 million koalas existed in Australia at the time of European settlement in 1788, but only 100,000 remain now.