On this Mother’s Day let’s look at some of the furry mothers out there looking after and protecting their young ones.
Koala mother Lilian and her joey Valley were in a car accident. Lilian was badly injured and Valley, who was three and a half months old, was protected in her pouch.
Despite Lilian’s initial paralysis and head injury, she made a miraculous recovery.
Lismore’s Northern Rivers Koala Hospital vet Dr Jodie Wakeman said the way Lilian regained her strength and coordination was incredibly inspiring.
Mother and joey were released back into their natural habitat and Valley will be able to explore life outside of his mum’s pouch in the wild.
This year the Koala Hospital has dealt with a record 22 orphaned and injured joeys. This is a 20% increase in admissions of koala patients at the hospital.
One of those helped was Tara and her joey Graham, who faced a critical situation when Graham was entangled in a barbed wire fence while Tara was nearby unable to help.
“Graham’s journey was fraught with pain from severe injuries and shock, necessitating multiple surgeries and intense care,” Ms Wakeman said.
“Wire injuries can cut off the blood supply to tissues and sometimes the full extent of the damage is not known for several days or weeks.”
The good news – Tara and Graham have returned to the wild.
Joining Friends of the Koala is one way to support these mothers and joeys.
Joeys like Kookie, a former hand-reared joey released in March last year who has now matured into a nurturing mother herself.
Kookie spent six months in home care after her mum was hit by a car in September, 2022.
A member of the public saw the accident and found Kookie on the road, thrown from her mum’s back.
Their immediate call to the 24/7 Friends of the Koala rescue hotline saved Kookie’s life.
Consider adopting a koala. Details here.
The information in this story was provided by Friends of the Koala.
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