A koala rescue story
Here is what happened one cold and wet night.
The drivers were called out in the middle of the downpour to attend to a baby koala that had been separated from her mum. The joey was only newly emerged from the tight security of her mum’s pouch and seemed to have been literally washed off her back as they were crossing the road outside Capalaba State College.
A resident who lived across the road happened to glance out her window and spotted the saturated koala with her dislodged joey in the roadside gutter that had suddenly become a gushing waterway. She rushed over to help.
On seeing this strange predator advancing towards her, ‘Mum’ took off up the nearest tree, leaving her offspring behind. The shivering joey was taken into the warm comfort of the resident’s home. Wildlife Rescue was called.
Unable to locate Mum due to the heavy rain and as the joey was too young to climb, the ambulance drivers contacted a koala carer who took on the role of surrogate mum for the night.
The next day, after careful searching, Mum was located at the top of the very same tree where she was last seen.
The baby koala was then brought out from the snug comfort of her warm basket and held up in an attempt to attract Mum’s attention. Despite loud calls and tapping on the tree trunk, Mum remained oblivious of her baby’s presence below. Then the baby koala let out a cry and suddenly she had her mum’s full attention!
So fast was her response that she was almost at the bottom of the tree before the baby could be placed on the tree trunk.
With the patience of a true mother, the koala positioned herself under her wayward youngster and waited calmly for her joey to ‘reattach’ herself. Crying excitedly, joey feverishly tried to clamber aboard, grabbing at mum’s head, in her ear and on her nose. Eventually, she calmed down and latched on.
With baby safely on board, Mum then carefully climbed up to the security of the tree top where they were last seen recovering from the trauma and stress of the past 24 hours.
If you would like to become a Wildlife Rescue volunteer call Redlands IndigiScapes Centre on 3824 8611.