Jesse - female koala found on the ground in Dunoon suffering from acute anaemia, cold and tick infestation.

Bounty - male koala from Modanville who fell from a tree during a violent storm is now on the way to a full recovery.

Hello again everyone. With the tornado very much in the minds of everyone last issue I thought you had enough to worry about without looking for koalas. I was relieved to find that we only had one confused koala trying to climb a carport in Cedar Drive. Otherwise all went well and there were no koalas flying around with assorted debris. I hope most of you are back to normal and reinstated in a working home by now….we are getting close to having our appliances replaced but I am sorry for those of you that are finding getting their homes to feel like the formerly safe haven is a slow process.
Maybe you’d like some nice news for a change? Well, we have two koalas from the area responding well to treatment. Both are juveniles - “Bounty” from Modanville (he is the lazy little guy stretched out along a tree limb, ear tag in the left ear) and “Jesse” from Dunoon (she is the sweet face posing for the camera with the ear tag in the right ear). Bounty is a young male who fell from a tree in Modanville during a nasty storm; Jesse is a female and was found on the ground with about 40 ticks and was suffering from acute anaemia and cold. Both were transported to Australia Wildlife Hospital and then returned to the local area for intensive home care. They have grown well while in care and have progressed sufficiently to be close to release.
On another positive note we have a juvenile female “Beauty Belle” released in Clunes and she will remain under the watchful eye of most of Walker Street and Glenview Close. Beauty Belle came into care suffering from pneumonia and has taken considerable time to recover. Hopefully she continues to thrive but with restricted habitat in the village, it will not be an easy task. Many residents of Clunes have undertaken to keep an eye on her recovery and report any misgivings they have to ensure this young koala is given the best opportunity to survive in the wild. Our thanks go to them.
Friends of the Koala plan a Basic Training Day early this year. If you are interested in learning how to spot a sick koala or wish to know how to catch one in need of treatment, please contact us. We have a 24 hour hotline 6622 1233 on which you can enrol in the training course or you can address any enquiries you may have relating to koalas in the area. Do not hesitate to call if you think there is a koala in need of attention. We are always grateful to hear news regarding the sighting of healthy koalas in the area to assist us with monitoring the koala population. Don’t forget to check our website
www.friendsofthekoala.org where you can learn a little more about our work or provide us with feedback.
We offer our thanks to the people in the Modanville/Dunoon/Dorroughby area that have called us during 2007. Some of you have called for us to tend koalas that have not survived, including cases of broken backs, severe cystitis and leukaemia. I would like to offer my personal thanks to you, although the outcome may not have been as we wished, you prevented some ill or injured animal’s undue suffering. I am sure you know to whom I refer.
Please be aware that we humans are not alone in our need for favourable conditions in which to thrive and the koalas need as much, if not more of a fair go, to at least have a chance of survival. If you are one of the new residents of Dunoon, or plan to build in the area and you are not aware of our organisation, have a browse of the website. In addition to caring for sick, injured or orphaned koalas, we offer a range of koala trees to plant on your property free of charge. We also stock many native species at a reasonable cost - just call 6622 1233 for details.
All the best for the coming year, may it be a little calmer weather wise!
Karen - Friends of the Koala