I had heard that an old friend of ours was back at the Koala Hospital, so I decided to pay him a visit. It wasn't the best decision I could have made. Read on and you'll see why.
Granite Murray, the old friend in question, is a handsome male koala who spent some time at the hospital about 18 months ago. Back then, Murray was placed in a recovery yard that contained a tree as well as the usual gunyah. A major branch of the tree had been severed to prevent recovering koalas from escaping (or "self-releasing", as it is euphemistically called) to nearby trees (they are wiley critters that way). This left a rather broad stump that Murray used climb upon and majestically survey the hospital grounds. You can read more about his last visit in the post, Who's the real king of the jungle?!. He's one of those lovely, easygoing "boofy" male koalas we fondly call "dudes", for their Zen-like placidity.
Murray came back into the Hospital recently, looking a bit run-down and with his wet bottom flaring up again. I noticed he was awake and enjoying a leaf snack on his gunyah, so I ventured into his yard to take some happy snaps.
That was my first mistake.
Now, I do call myself the "koalawrangler", which is something of an ironic overstatement of the job (it's more dustpans-and-brooms than chairs-and-whips), so you can take my pretensions of photojournalism (and the derring-do and adventure that implies) with an equally large grain of salt. Photographing koalas is a mostly riskfree activity without much chance of injury.
So there I was chatting away to Murray, and clicking away while he chomped on his leaf and took very little notice of me at all. Peter and Judy were also nearby talking to me about Murray's well-known laidback demeanour.
Then, suddenly, something hard and sharp came out of nowhere and hit me in the eye! Oh, don't worry, the "attack" was in no way koala-related, although I did wonder if there was some truth in those rumours of drop bears that I remember someone's older brother scaring me with as a child. That and Henny Penny's lament: "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!".
What had happened was nothing more than a dead stick falling from tree. It happens all the time. But even a spindly eucalyptus branch in freefall can pick up some speed and pack a punch. I felt like I'd been kicked in the face. The point of the stick had ricocheted off my eyebrow, scraped my lid and then dug into the soft skin under my eye - all in a split second. When I put my hands to my face, they came away with blood on them.
Murray was still chomping away, oblivious of me and my injury. Peter and Judy, meanwhile, were much more reactive and quickly ushered me into the koala treatment room where Cheyne, the Hospital Supervisor, was in consultation most conveniently with our visiting vet. I had nothing to worry about - I was placed in the best of koala care!
Chris the vet flashed a torch in my eye to check for bits of bark while Cheyne set about cleaning the wounds with Betadine. It stung a bit and I wondered if it would help if I bit or scratched her since that would be more like what she was used to. I whimpered, "it hurts!", and she said I was being a big wuss. Maybe I should wee on the treatment table, I thought, that'll fix her. Then she offered to give me an ultrasound like she does the koalas. That shut me up. I was reminded of the expression about something being better than a poke in the eye with a blunt stick, and now I'm fairly sure that's true!
Chris the vet also put a drop of dye in my eye to check for scratches but I got the all clear. Some of the staff in the day room were muttering, "how did she get a tick in her eye?", which just goes to show how information can get corrupted in about two minutes' flat.
To be on the safe side, I paid a visit to a friend of mine who's a GP. He cleaned up the wounds a bit more, snipped off some skin and patched me up with some steri strip. Oh, I look quite a sight! My modelling days (not) might just be over!
But I'm not the only one "in the wars", as my Nan would say. One of our new patients, Cherrygum John, self-released yesterday and in the process of his recapture, lost his eartag. When I came in this morning he was just finishing his nutritional supplement after getting tagged in the right ear. This messes with the system slightly - males are tagged on the left and females on the right (because women are always right). It's been suggested that John might have something of a gender identity crisis on his hands, but he didn't look too bothered about the ramifications of arbitrary human symbolic systems to me. He just wanted more formula.
In other news, I saw a koala cross the road in the very street I live in the other day. He (there was a tag in his left ear) was ambling across the street in that ungainly way koalas have when they're on the ground. I slowed the car and waited for him to cross. His bottom was clear but he looked like he had a bit of spinal curvature to me. He headed straight up a tree by the road, so I couldn't stop and ask how or who he was...
I knew he wasn't Bowden Sam, a koala named after yours truly when he was brought in from a street just near our house last Summer. Unfortunately, I'd learned from Amanda that Sam had been brought back in DOA recently :(
There's hope for our Granite Murray though. My advice to him, though, is don't look up - a stick might just hit you in the eye.
Here are more photos of lovely Granite Murray.
Showing posts with label Granite Murray. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Granite Murray. Show all posts
Friday, 31 July 2009
Thursday, 28 February 2008
Granite Murray's in the bag
Granite Murray is still in ICU and receiving treatment as part of the Sydney uni trials. It's all in the name of curing chlamydia. He seems happy to receive his 100ml of formula and takes it without a bit of fuss. Below you can see my five-step feeding-bagging method for Granite Murray:
1. Feed him. About 100ml ought to do it.
2. Give him a comforting little pat.
3. Whip the bag over his head when he's not looking.
4. Give it a twist to ensure no koala "bits" (claws, teeth) can get out.
5. Hey presto! One bagged koala!
(Don't try this at home!)
Click here to see more photos of this week's koala patients recovering at the Koala Hospital, Port Macquarie.
1. Feed him. About 100ml ought to do it.
2. Give him a comforting little pat.
3. Whip the bag over his head when he's not looking.
4. Give it a twist to ensure no koala "bits" (claws, teeth) can get out.
5. Hey presto! One bagged koala!
(Don't try this at home!)
Click here to see more photos of this week's koala patients recovering at the Koala Hospital, Port Macquarie.
Thursday, 14 February 2008
Freeing the Foxie lady (again)
Newport Bridge Gloria
From koalawrangler's gallery.
When I drove in this morning, there was a koala trap set up around one of the towering gums that overhangs yard 9. What's that about, I wonder?
I see there's been a koala shuffle afoot in the last week: the koala in yard 2 is NOT Warrego Martin. All I can tell at first glance is that it's one of the girls, I'm just not sure which yet. I'm hoping the change means good news for Martin, rather than the worst kind...
Sure enough, when I get inside I learn that Warrego Martin has been released. Yay! Regatta Lanaye has been shifted along one into Martin's old spot and little Newport Bridge Gloria has moved from her inside unit to yard 3.
Just as I suspected the koala trap outside is for Birthday Girl. Her vigour has taken something of a dramatic upward turn of late. She used to be almost glued to the spot on one of the gunyahs, only occasionally limping along to seek out fresh leaf (such as in the video below).
Birthday Girl suffers from debilitating arthritis but has been receiving ongoing treatment (and much TLC) from the koala hospital staff. Lately, they've been giving her new medication that works so well, Birthday Girl seems to be convinced she can walk on water (or at least climb pretty high, which is more usual). It reminds me a little of the 1985 movie Cocoon in which a bunch of elderly people discover a pool filled with alien cocoons. After swimming in it, it has a 'fountain of youth' effect on them and they find themselves capable of doing things they hadn't done for years. In Birthday Girl's case she's even been sighted flirting outrageously with Roto Randy, the rogue male who hangs about the grounds looking out for any available females. I even heard him serenading her with his mating call...
Birthday Girl and Roto Randy
From koalawrangler's gallery.
The trouble is that she's been missing her twice-daily supplements and not getting her usual supply of leaf. There's also a concern that she only seems capable of moving in one direction - up. She doesn't seem to have a reverse gear...
There's some sad, if expected, news. Ocean Joseph, the sweet-tempered male koala who sustained a fractured pelvis in a car accident, has been euthanased. A major concern was that he didn't seem to be urinating. It turned out that the fracture had occurred in his sacrum (a large, triangular bone at the base of the spine). As this healed, it created a callous which blocked or pinched the nerve that instructs the bladder to release urine; while the nerve responsible for telling the bladder to hold urine was still operational. Consequently, the urine had backed up in his ureters, distending his bladder out of all proportion and damaging his kidneys. Even if his mobility issues had been remedied, the nerve damage prevented this essential urination function. Joseph was a special favourite around here, being affectionately dubbed "Gessepe" by Peter, one of the regular teamleaders. Here's a video of Peter fetching the acquiescent Joseph from his gunyah for a weigh-in.
It goes that way: some sad news, some good news. Granite Murray has been moved outside to the circular yard in yard 10. This is Tractive Golfer's turf. Hopefully, these two alpha males can temporarily share the space amicably. I've said it before and I'll say it again - there's nothing more rewarding than moving a koala to an outside yard after they've been stuck inside in ICU for treatment for several weeks. Once they're outside, it usually means they've done the hard yards and are now in rehab mode in preparation for release.
Newport Bridge Gloria was was moved outside to yard 3 is one we're hopeful of seeing released. This is the second time she has been brought in with wet bottom symptoms, the last time was a year ago. This time around her bottom still has a red tinge but it looks dry. It takes a while for the tail fur to clean itself up after wet bottom has struck.
Hindman Foxie is another koala we've seen in the hospital a few times. Her left eye is blind and completely clouded over. Twice in the last two months, we have been alerted to there being a koala with an obviously damaged eye. Conjunctivitis is a sign of chlamydia so we are just as concerned to investigate sore eyes since wet bottoms as koalas with one or the other still carry the same bacteria.
In Foxie's case however, her right eye is quite healthy and she's in pretty good shape for her age. Whenever she hears the Koala Hospital truck pull up, she's probably thinking, "oh, not you lot again!".
I accompany Peter to release Foxie near Kooloonbung Creek, an area away from the road with lots of gum trees and other dense foliage. When we put back the lid, she continues to sit in her basket for a few moments while she takes it all in. Then she's off, bounding up the tree for several feet until she does the customary koala look-back, that seems to say "I'm okay, you can go now!"
Click here to see more photos of this week's koala patients at the Koala Hospital, Port Macquarie.
Wednesday, 13 February 2008
Holy cuteness, Batman, it's Granite Murray!
Holy Cuteness, the blog dedicated to documenting the cutest critters in the animal kingdom, has taken a shine to our Granite Murray.
See the Holy Cuteness post below:
See the Holy Cuteness post below:
Monday, 28 January 2008
Who's the real king of the jungle?!
Granite Murray
From koalawrangler's gallery.
Granite Murray, a large handsome male koala in our care, has spent several weeks in ICU being treated for "wet bottom". He's recently been shifted to an outside yard to complete his recovery, and spends most of his time high up his tree.
Today he came down for formula, but didn't shoot straight back up the tree afterwards. Instead, he paused halfway up, perching on the flat stump where a large branch has been removed to prevent possible escapes. He stayed there for quite some time, enjoying his surveillance of the entire hospital grounds from his lofty perch.
Who says the lion is king of the jungle?
I was able to take several shots of him from various locations.
Here are more photos of lovely Granite Murray.
Thursday, 10 January 2008
Hamlyn Bev returns to the fold
Alas, it can pay not to keep your hopes up regarding certain koalas. Sometimes a koala whose unit you've cleaned one week might take a turn for the worse and not be there at your next shift. I had been especially concerned about Hamlyn Bev and Bangalay Millie, both wet bottoms who’d been rescued during my shift on Thursday - Hamlyn Bev by Amanda and myself. Both were scheduled for ultrasounds at the vet and their outcome was uncertain until that examination.
So I’m thrilled to see both have been accommodated in units in the ICU. Just as I arrive, I spy Jim entering Bev’s unit with a bundle of towels and a scissors-and-string basket.
"Hold it right there, cowboy," I warn him. "That there is *my* koala. I bagged her fair n' square and no ornery varmint is gonna wrangle her but me.”
Jim looks suitably afraid and asks if there are any other koalas he needs to steer clear of, or if he should simply leave town on the next mail-coach.
Hamlyn Bev
From koalawrangler's gallery.
Bev’s ultrasound showed up that her bladder was clear but she has a cyst beside her ovaries. Not sure whether that’s something they will try to remove or not. She also has a weepy right eye from conjunctivitis.
Bev is a different girl to the one I saw on Thursday. Today she is spritely and alert, looking so pointedly at me that I worry for a moment that she might be about to spring off the gunyah and onto me the moment my back is turned. Of course, Bev was hand-raised in the hospital when she came to us as an orphan, so she is more used to human contact that the wilder koalas we get in the place. She’s got none of the “wild” koala reticence.
I go off in search of her food. She takes to it with gusto, sucking on the syringe like it’s a bottle. I try to position it at the side of her mouth but she won’t have it, she wants it front and centre like a teat. She suctions onto it and slurps it back and I imagine she’s recalling her days back in homecare with her foster mum, Judy. Apparently, Judy has been popping in to check on her former charge, ensuring she has her favourite leaf on hand.
Each time I place the syringe in her mouth, she reaches towards me and tries to grab my arm. It seems easier to let her, since she’s just wants something to hang on to and her claws aren’t particularly sharp. But she grapples for the syringe and they start to dig in; so I let go, and find myself in the situation I was in with Warrego Martin the other day – trying to wrestle the syringe out of the surprisingly nimble claws of a hungry koala.
Jim is next door, listening to the one-way conversation I’m having with Bev:
“Let go.”
“Ow, that hurts.”
“Drop it…”
“Give me back that syringe.”
“Not my arm, take the branch, the branch, not ME!”
He comments that he thinks I must have let him off lightly, if that’s the kind of carry-on Bev’s giving me. (Of course, I’m loving every minute of it, really!).
Bangalay Millie
From koalawrangler's gallery.
Just then, Jim yells “hey!”. Apparently Bangalay Millie has just tried to jump from her gunyah onto the window ledge. That’s a good sign really. Her wet bottom seems much more advanced than Bev’s (who’s been rated a 1 on the wet bottom scale), so the fact that Millie’s still full of beans is usually a good sign.
I look in on Newport Bridge Gloria, one of the sweet little koalas from the drug trials earlier this year. She’s much quieter then these other two. Joy commented that it’s causing her pain to pass urine, which is not good. Still, we keep up her treatment and hope for the best.
Granite Murray has become a “jumper” apparently. He’s fed up with being indoors and wants out. So he’s taking it out on the vollies. He’s another less-wild (“tame” is a dirty word around here) koala, having been a patient here a few times before. So he knows the drill. But he’s over it and wants the great outdoors.
He probably thinks he’s missing out on all the fun Roto Randy’s been having.
Click here to view more of today's koala hospital snaps.
So I’m thrilled to see both have been accommodated in units in the ICU. Just as I arrive, I spy Jim entering Bev’s unit with a bundle of towels and a scissors-and-string basket.
"Hold it right there, cowboy," I warn him. "That there is *my* koala. I bagged her fair n' square and no ornery varmint is gonna wrangle her but me.”
Jim looks suitably afraid and asks if there are any other koalas he needs to steer clear of, or if he should simply leave town on the next mail-coach.
Hamlyn Bev
From koalawrangler's gallery.
Bev’s ultrasound showed up that her bladder was clear but she has a cyst beside her ovaries. Not sure whether that’s something they will try to remove or not. She also has a weepy right eye from conjunctivitis.
Bev is a different girl to the one I saw on Thursday. Today she is spritely and alert, looking so pointedly at me that I worry for a moment that she might be about to spring off the gunyah and onto me the moment my back is turned. Of course, Bev was hand-raised in the hospital when she came to us as an orphan, so she is more used to human contact that the wilder koalas we get in the place. She’s got none of the “wild” koala reticence.
I go off in search of her food. She takes to it with gusto, sucking on the syringe like it’s a bottle. I try to position it at the side of her mouth but she won’t have it, she wants it front and centre like a teat. She suctions onto it and slurps it back and I imagine she’s recalling her days back in homecare with her foster mum, Judy. Apparently, Judy has been popping in to check on her former charge, ensuring she has her favourite leaf on hand.
Each time I place the syringe in her mouth, she reaches towards me and tries to grab my arm. It seems easier to let her, since she’s just wants something to hang on to and her claws aren’t particularly sharp. But she grapples for the syringe and they start to dig in; so I let go, and find myself in the situation I was in with Warrego Martin the other day – trying to wrestle the syringe out of the surprisingly nimble claws of a hungry koala.
Jim is next door, listening to the one-way conversation I’m having with Bev:
“Let go.”
“Ow, that hurts.”
“Drop it…”
“Give me back that syringe.”
“Not my arm, take the branch, the branch, not ME!”
He comments that he thinks I must have let him off lightly, if that’s the kind of carry-on Bev’s giving me. (Of course, I’m loving every minute of it, really!).
Bangalay Millie
From koalawrangler's gallery.
Just then, Jim yells “hey!”. Apparently Bangalay Millie has just tried to jump from her gunyah onto the window ledge. That’s a good sign really. Her wet bottom seems much more advanced than Bev’s (who’s been rated a 1 on the wet bottom scale), so the fact that Millie’s still full of beans is usually a good sign.
I look in on Newport Bridge Gloria, one of the sweet little koalas from the drug trials earlier this year. She’s much quieter then these other two. Joy commented that it’s causing her pain to pass urine, which is not good. Still, we keep up her treatment and hope for the best.
Granite Murray has become a “jumper” apparently. He’s fed up with being indoors and wants out. So he’s taking it out on the vollies. He’s another less-wild (“tame” is a dirty word around here) koala, having been a patient here a few times before. So he knows the drill. But he’s over it and wants the great outdoors.
He probably thinks he’s missing out on all the fun Roto Randy’s been having.
Click here to view more of today's koala hospital snaps.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)