Tweet
On the school run this afternoon, I was idly looking out the car window and noticed a furry grey lump at the base of a tree in a public park. I picked up Miss Jazzy and we headed back to check on the koala, hoping that it was just changing trees and that I had seen it in the moment before it began to climb. Healthy koalas DO NOT just sit on the ground.
We pulled over and I walked close enough to see that it was a mama and a baby, but not close enough to spook it. Mama was breathing hard and was unusually wobbly when she decided to move. Jazzy and T (Mother in law) came over for a bit of a look, but stayed well clear, as did another guy who wanted to take a photo.
A lovely bloke came over for a chat and hung around while I was talking to the rescue team, he took his dog home and returned with the clothes basket as suggested. By that time, the koala had begun to climb up into the tree so we couldn't do anything. She sat in the first fork only about 2 metres off the ground which would have been an easy height for professional collection. Bloke saved the rescue number for future reference and headed home.
Enter Rude Lady #1 and kids, who proceeded to walk right up to the base of the tree and talk loudly, scaring Mama further up the tree to about 5 metres high. T walked over and attempted to boss them, and they left after a brief argument. Mama was content for the moment and needed to rest.
The rescue team (Dude and J) arrived, along with Rude Lady #2, who insisted for about 15 minutes that: "You can't take the koala! She's fine! She's always lived here! The baby will be fine! She's healthy, you can't just drag her out of the tree and take her away for the fun of it! You must really enjoy being mean to animals!" Thanks to her shrill voice, Mama climbed up as far as she could and sent 'Catherine' up further. They ended up about 15 metres high. She suggested leaving Mama alone for one more day to let her recover, and was annoyed when I said that one day could make a huge difference to the outcome. Dude backed me on this, and explained that this was the 4th day they'd been called out for this koala and they couldn't leave her when she is clearly sick. Dude asked me to explain to her about the uneven gait, and RL#2 gave me the biggest CBF I'd ever seen. She left after I offered to help unload the 4WD, clearly pissed off at being shown up by someone younger that she'd tried to override.
The treeclimbers arrived and so did the Gawkers. With all of the Gawkers was a lovely, very upset, lady (L) who had been keeping an eye on the koalas over the last couple of days and had been calling the rescue team every time that they were on the ground. Dude and J were busy talking with the climbers, so I had the joy of explaining over and over to the Gawkers that the koala was sick, that they were taking her + bub to a wildlife vet for assessment and care, and that the koalas would be released after treatment. No, they're not going to a zoo. No, they're not doing this for fun. Yes, there is a good reason. I know she's up a tree now, but that's because she was scared by all of the people walking past the park. Here, let me list Mama's symptoms for you and describe it so that you can understand. (She was sitting on the ground and not moving for at least 30 minutes. She's walking like an old dog with severe arthritis or a back injury, she was stopping to catch her breath every couple of steps, and she was clearly in pain)
After checking the various options, the climbers rigged up some lines in a nearby tree. One climbed up and began to coax Mama into coming down. As he was climbing up, 'Catherine' climbed back onto Mama which made the capture much easier. Mama shimmied down the tree in a fairly straight line, and plopped into the net easily. She was moved into the cage and there was a bit of noise while J untangled her and briefly detached 'Catherine' to check on her. J checked Mama, then showed me how to safely check and score their condition for future reference. Everyone crowded in to have a look (which stressed Mama a bit), and L was even more upset after J explained how sick Mama was and how thin 'Catherine' is. To help, J asked L to name the baby, because Bub is healthy despite being thin and has a good chance of survival. L named her 'Catherine' after her daughter, and cheered up a little with the promise of updates on their health. Dude quietly explained to me, away from the Gawkers, that Mama is around a 1-2 out of 10 and will probably have to be put to sleep as she's unlikely to survive. From the look of things, she had severe pneumonia and almost no lung capacity left. 'Catherine' will be checked, microchipped and raised by a carer until she's old enough to be returned to the wild.
We pulled over and I walked close enough to see that it was a mama and a baby, but not close enough to spook it. Mama was breathing hard and was unusually wobbly when she decided to move. Jazzy and T (Mother in law) came over for a bit of a look, but stayed well clear, as did another guy who wanted to take a photo.
A lovely bloke came over for a chat and hung around while I was talking to the rescue team, he took his dog home and returned with the clothes basket as suggested. By that time, the koala had begun to climb up into the tree so we couldn't do anything. She sat in the first fork only about 2 metres off the ground which would have been an easy height for professional collection. Bloke saved the rescue number for future reference and headed home.
Enter Rude Lady #1 and kids, who proceeded to walk right up to the base of the tree and talk loudly, scaring Mama further up the tree to about 5 metres high. T walked over and attempted to boss them, and they left after a brief argument. Mama was content for the moment and needed to rest.
The rescue team (Dude and J) arrived, along with Rude Lady #2, who insisted for about 15 minutes that: "You can't take the koala! She's fine! She's always lived here! The baby will be fine! She's healthy, you can't just drag her out of the tree and take her away for the fun of it! You must really enjoy being mean to animals!" Thanks to her shrill voice, Mama climbed up as far as she could and sent 'Catherine' up further. They ended up about 15 metres high. She suggested leaving Mama alone for one more day to let her recover, and was annoyed when I said that one day could make a huge difference to the outcome. Dude backed me on this, and explained that this was the 4th day they'd been called out for this koala and they couldn't leave her when she is clearly sick. Dude asked me to explain to her about the uneven gait, and RL#2 gave me the biggest CBF I'd ever seen. She left after I offered to help unload the 4WD, clearly pissed off at being shown up by someone younger that she'd tried to override.
The treeclimbers arrived and so did the Gawkers. With all of the Gawkers was a lovely, very upset, lady (L) who had been keeping an eye on the koalas over the last couple of days and had been calling the rescue team every time that they were on the ground. Dude and J were busy talking with the climbers, so I had the joy of explaining over and over to the Gawkers that the koala was sick, that they were taking her + bub to a wildlife vet for assessment and care, and that the koalas would be released after treatment. No, they're not going to a zoo. No, they're not doing this for fun. Yes, there is a good reason. I know she's up a tree now, but that's because she was scared by all of the people walking past the park. Here, let me list Mama's symptoms for you and describe it so that you can understand. (She was sitting on the ground and not moving for at least 30 minutes. She's walking like an old dog with severe arthritis or a back injury, she was stopping to catch her breath every couple of steps, and she was clearly in pain)
After checking the various options, the climbers rigged up some lines in a nearby tree. One climbed up and began to coax Mama into coming down. As he was climbing up, 'Catherine' climbed back onto Mama which made the capture much easier. Mama shimmied down the tree in a fairly straight line, and plopped into the net easily. She was moved into the cage and there was a bit of noise while J untangled her and briefly detached 'Catherine' to check on her. J checked Mama, then showed me how to safely check and score their condition for future reference. Everyone crowded in to have a look (which stressed Mama a bit), and L was even more upset after J explained how sick Mama was and how thin 'Catherine' is. To help, J asked L to name the baby, because Bub is healthy despite being thin and has a good chance of survival. L named her 'Catherine' after her daughter, and cheered up a little with the promise of updates on their health. Dude quietly explained to me, away from the Gawkers, that Mama is around a 1-2 out of 10 and will probably have to be put to sleep as she's unlikely to survive. From the look of things, she had severe pneumonia and almost no lung capacity left. 'Catherine' will be checked, microchipped and raised by a carer until she's old enough to be returned to the wild.
And, yeah, I know that's cause ours are common to us, and their's aren't - no doubt some of ours seem exotic to them too.
Comment