There are many stories that cover one aspect of rescue, care or release of a koala.  Indeed, I have written such articles.  This little story differs as I was involved in each aspect of the koala coming into and leaving care.

Bounty was a young koala that fell from a tall eucalypt one wet cold winter evening.  It appeared he had fallen onto the road and his mother, although nearby, appeared disinterested in him.

A nearby family saw the little ball of fur on the road as they were coming home at the end of the day.  They collected him up and took him inside their warm home and called the Friends of the Koala hotline.  After a long busy day I was on the pint of having a long soak in a hot bath just as the rescue phone called… change of plans and I was off to collect the injured koala.

To my surprise this koala seemed okay and was at least a quarter of the size I expected.  He and had to be bundled up in everything I had in the car to ensure his safe trip to our Care Co-ordinator.  Driving along dark wet roads in the middle of a Northern Rivers winter is less than pleasant, especially with such a precious little charge packed up and secure on the back seat. He was successfully handed over and I could do nothing else but hope he had a chance of recovering from his ordeal. I had named him Bounty, after the mutiny on the Bounty…albeit a tree in this instance!

For several months young Bounty received the undivided attention of a home carer.  Eventually he was ready to return home and to my joy ‘home’ meant just that…he was back here in our neighbourhood.  Again the weather turned cold and very wet and so young Bounty was placed in an enclosure to ensure he could cope with the rigors of weather and foraging for leaf on his own.  He also had to hone his skills at climbing a wide girth tree and adjust to the other koalas that lived in his area.

Four months of collecting leaf for supplementary feeding made me wonder if our little lad would ever venture outside his enclosure and return to the wild.  Well…surprise, one day he did.  He only moved to the tree outside his enclosure for the first few days, but finally he ventured further afield.  Further afield is a relative term…only a few hundred metres at this stage, and occasionally he comes home to his familiar trees.  Today he came home again and I supplied him with a supplementary leaf feed so I could better assess his body condition and make sure he was gaining weight.  To my relief he was looking quite chubby.

At long last I feel confident, if guarded, in saying the little boy is doing well and seems to be thriving.  I am pleased he is slow to roam out of the home range as it has given me a rare opportunity to monitor his progress.  This little koala has been one of the best and most unique experiences I have had in life.  To rescue, care for, release and continue to monitor a vulnerable young animal at each stage of his young life has been a huge privilege.  Needless to say I have a special affection for Bounty and wish him well.  It is perhaps a little Orwellian but, although all koalas are special….some are more special!

Submitted by Karen Jennison