8.15 on a Friday night and the annual City Vs Country Ruby League match had just begun.

Volunteer Dave heard the Koala Hotline phone ring: a group of young people were calling on Simon’s mobile phone. They had found a young female Koala which had been struck by a car.

Bad enough at any time but the accident had happened very close to the Friends of the Koala’s Care Centre in Rifle Range Road at Lismore. The chances were high that it would be a koala the centre’s workers knew well from the area.

After collecting the necessary information from a very capable young man Dave contacted Kay who attended within 10 minutes.

After letting Simon know help was on the way Dave received two more phone calls reporting the same Koala’s need for help. Firstly Noel and his wife and then Allison who were all caring and helpful.

We will have to wait to learn the fate of our newest charge but Dave considered the night a major success already due to the prompt and caring support from so many members of the general public who were all “friends of the koala”.

Written by 24hr Hotliner Dave Hughes

Watching a favourite TV show on Friday night, when the phone rings.

Dave who has the 24 hour phone that night says ‘Koala has been hit by car at the intersection of Rifle Range Road and Cynthia Wilson Drive’.

Oh No! My first thought was one of our resident wild koalas that live at the Care Centre had been hit.

On reaching the roundabout at the entrance to Southern Cross University I glanced up towards the intersection. Lots of parked vehicles with flashing lights and people were gathered around the koala which was in the middle of the road.

I stopped my vehicle and put my hazard lights on. A young gentleman was directing the traffic. A lady was sitting on the road with the koala. She had put a dooner cover around it. I was able to gently move the koala into my koala catching bag without any stress.

A young family with two boys had stopped and the father offered to help take the koala to the Care Centre. I thanked everyone for helping and off we went. I was very impressed with how the community had rallied around to help our favourite icon.

Back at the Care Centre the koala which was a female was weighed and assessed. She was suffering from Conjunctivitis and Cystitis, and had a nasty gash on her back. After speaking to the Care Coordinator pain relief was proved and a course of antibiotics commenced with the plan of getting her to a vet as soon as they opened.

Written by Care Centre Coordinator and Ada’s Rescuer Kay Sherring

 

My first encounter with Ada was when I came in to the Care Centre to pick her up and bring her home for home care. She was wrapped warmly in one of the Care Centre rooms. She was very quiet and I was worried about her. By this time she had already been to one of our wonderful local vets who had carefully stitched her wounds and given her a through going over for other internal injuries.

I brought her home and set her up inside, providing warmth, fluids and lots of leaf. The best leaf tips I could find. More pain relief was given. She was given time to rest and recover from the shock of her ordeal.

She did not eat that first night which is a bad sign in a koala but she did look a little better so I kept pursuing with warmth, fluids and a quiet, comfortable environment along with her medications.

36 hours on and she started to eat but was still was not moving around at all. She was content to sit in her basket and munch on the leaf which was in easy reach. I suspected she was in lots of pain so pain relief was provided. Her bedding was cleaned regularly to keep her wound clean and keep her as comfortable as possible.

By the Monday her appetite had definitely returned. She was starting to make a dramatic recovery and I was beginning to feel hopeful. She was moving around in her basket but I had not seen her walking yet. I was still concerned and felt things would not be all OK until I had seen her move normally and would feel much better once she had an ultrasound up at the Australian Wildlife Hospital to confirm she did not have cysts on her ovaries. Cysts are a complication koalas have as a result of Chlamydia which was also causing Ada’s conjunctivitis and cystitis. It is a very specialised skill being able to ultrasound for cysts as the ovaries of a koala as so small. If they are found there is nothing that can be done to treat them. The only option is euthanasia. I was praying this would not be the case for Ada. So far I had not wanted to transport her to the Hospital because I was not sure she was in a condition that would cope with the trip.

By the next day Ada had started to move around but she eluded me in doing so.

The next day and the room she was in had been completely trashed. There were pellets from one end to the other and she had even started to climb her ‘indoor tree’. This time I did manage to observe her moving and was worried one of her ankles was leaning inwards.

A vet appointment was made for an x-ray to confirm there were no broken bones in the ankle. Breaks in the joints are not a good outcome for a koala who needs to go back to the wild so I held my breath while the vet looked at the x-rays. All looked OK – thank goodness. It was thought the problem was being caused by a damaged tendon – something fixable.

After discussions with the vet on how to approach the tendon damage we thought it was time for a trip to AWH along with 3 other koalas who needed a through going over by a specialise wildlife vet. We have not had the experience of bandaging a damaged tendon and did not want to do it incorrectly resulting in further complications.

I was dreading the phone call with the findings of Ada’s ultrasound which was my biggest concern. Then it came – and it was bad news. She had very small cysts, which was why we were unable to see them down here, but unfortunately meant she needed to be euthanased otherwise she would end up suffering from the horrible death they cause. Yes, we could have fixed the problem with her ankle which the Hospital agreed was tendon damage but all that goes by the wayside when a female koala has cysts as there are no alternatives.

How frustrating and sad. I had so much hope for her and am so frustrated at the number of female koalas we see with cysts on their ovaries. I had been really hoping that because her conjunctivitis and cystitis were mild that cysts had not yet developed. Also our local vet had such a good, long look on the ultrasound but because they were so small they were too difficult to find.

We desperately need more research into this area to find out if there is anything more we can do to help our female koalas with this horrible disease. They have tried many things at the Australian Wildlife Hospital but no suitable solution has yet been found to treat these poor animals despite many attempts.

A huge thankyou must go to all those who were involved in doing everything that was possible for Ada. From the people who rang us to ensure she was picked up and provided with pain relief ASAP, our phone roster volunteers, the rescuers who initially attended to her, the local vets who helped with her initial treatment, our transporters who regularly drive koalas to the Hospital for us and all the vets and staff at the Hospital. It never ceases to amaze me how all these people, most of whom are volunteers and do the work in their spare time, with their own money rally together for a koala such as Ada. I wish the outcome had been better.

On the bright side, Gloria, one of the other female koalas who took the trip to the Hospital with Ada came back with her ultrasound all clear and free of cysts. Despite also having Chlamydia she does not have the reproductive form which causes the cysts so her treatment should hopefully go without complication. She is currently being cared for in the Friends of the Koala Care Centre and is already a huge favourite due to her very unusual colouring.

Go Gloria!!!!!!!!!!

Written by Care Coordinator and Ada’s Carer Barb Dobner

Steve who was involved in Ada’s rescue sent the following email to Friends Of the Koala. I had asked for photos because I had not taken any myself. I am a little suspicious and have a general rule I do not take photos until I know there is a very good chance a koala will make it. I regret that now with Ada and wanted something to remember her by -

“Maria has told me that you would like some copies of the photo's that I had of "Ada" the Koala, please find these attached.

Although our encounter was very brief, our family was upset to hear that she had to be euthanized due to the cysts she had developed.

I would like to say thankyou for the care you have given to her and other sick & Injured Koala's as I have seen first hand the dedication and effort the FOK put in for these animals, I would also like to make mention of the terrific work "Kay" did that night for "Ada". She was warm & friendly and involved my children and they thought it was wonderful.

After discussing your organisation and the work you do with the Managing Director of the company I work for (Ross Macdougald) , Ross has kindly agreed that FPI Oceania would like to make a donation to Friends of the Koala for $200.00. We hope that this will go a small way in helping another unfortunate animal in receiving the care it needs to make a recovery with hopefully a more positive result than that of "Ada".”

After discussions the money is going to go to Gloria so she can be given a second chance in the wild.

Thankyou FPO Oceania!!!!!!!