I mentioned the Australia Zoo, its Australia Wildlife Hospital, and the Wildlife Warriors in earlier posts. I can’t say enough good about them – I was impressed by the professionalism, thought, care, and obvious love of animals that was pervasive throughout the building, the organization, and every individual I met.
Rehabbers in general are special people, giving up their own comfort (and often sleep) to care for injured animals. To truly put the best interests of the wildlife first is challenging. Even in our brief visit, we were all captivated by the koalas and wanting to cuddle them, but acting in the animals’ best interests means that their caretakers ignore that impulse and treat them as the wild animals they are. This allows these koalas, and others, to return to a life in the wild with being overly habituated to people and running the risk of becoming a nuisance or being injured again.
So here are some photos of one of the patients, a koala who was brought into the clinic for care, and then carried back to his “room,” nicely furnished with eucalyptus tree branches and leaves.
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All caretakers should be appreciated and I admire the animal rehabbers. I am such an animal lover and I feel sorry for any animal if it is hurt.
What a cute critter. I have seen them in various zoos, the koala is a very popular animal in the US.
Yes, I know they are not as cuddly as they look – they remain wild animals, after all. I appreciate them for their cute, cranky selves and with a little empathy. I’m not very sociable myself when I first wake up. And since koalas sleep 22 hours a day, odds are they’ve just woken up whenever you see one.
The Australian Darter is magnificent! We have two types of Cormorants in Maine, Great and Double Crested. They have incredible turquoise eyes and I too, love to photograph them. And of course, everyone loves Koalas no matter where you come from. Fun blog from a part of the world I’ll probably never get to, thanks for sharing.
oh Jane, those koalas captured my heart.. how wonderful to be able to visit this special place.. we need more ‘wildlife warriors’ in the world, kudos to them and thanks for sharing these precious photos
They are cute looking, but are known to be quite vicous at times, actually. In fact, since they have fingerprints, they have often been found “guilty” of vandalism (destruction of property, knocking over trash cans, etc.)
I read about the fingerprints while I was in Brisbane. I believe they are the only animal other then humans that has them.
Wren: They are such a lovable looking critter.
They are just the CUTEST little creatures! Love this!
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