Joeys behaving badly

One Mile Beach Noah & Oxley Holly
From koalawrangler's gallery.

It's not easy being the only boy koala occupying a single tree with three girls. Just ask One Mile Beach Noah.

As a relative newcomer to yard 6, Noah has made his home in one of the lower forks of the yard's tree. The spot has become a favourite for him; you often see him flopped in the crook of its branches, arms and legs dangling like a happy sloth.

One Mile Beach Noah
From koalawrangler's gallery.

Trouble is, this fork is a bit of major thoroughfare, especially when new leaf has arrived. Today, Helene was distributing leaf into the several pots strewn around the gunyah in yard 6. Oxley Holly (I can tell it's her by her nose) decided she was heading down for a gander at the smorgasboard.

But Noah was having none of it.

Noah wouldn't budge so Holly shimmied down the main trunk and wedged herself in front of Noah (where they gave each other a bit of a sniff). Then, when Holly didn't vamoose her caboose, he gave her a warning nibble on the shoulder.


Noah giving Holly a warning chomp
From koalawrangler's gallery.
Holly eeped a little and then clipped Noah over the ear before taking off up the tree again.

It was time for Holly's Plan B.

Her next tactic was to reverse down the tree...onto Noah's head. She sat there on Noah's noggin for a bit, before he gave Holly her final marching orders.


Holly sitting on Noah
From koalawrangler's gallery.
Holly gave up and took off...and Noah resumed the position in *his* treefork.


One Mile Beach Noah back in the zone without any pesky chicks around
From koalawrangler's gallery.
Here's some of the action caught on KoalaKam:


Interestingly, it was almost exactly a year ago that I blogged on some other joeys behaving badly in Joeyz in da hood.

In other news, Hamlyn Bev is jumped ship from the round yard in yard 10 into yard 10 proper. She is currently, unhelpfully, up a pine tree.

Nowendoc Carl
From koalawrangler's gallery.

Nowendoc Carl is looking a million bucks after his operation to remove the inflammed tissue from his eyes. The right is still cloudy, but the left is much clearer. He looks much better just being out in the yards and "upstairs" (on the top part of the gunyah), rather than looking lacklustre on the bottom rung as he did inside. His fur, which was a dun-brown colour on admission looks to me like it's got some healthier grey flecks coming through, or perhaps that's just from seeing him in the sun for the first time. He's much brighter and grabbier too - he managed to wangle the syringe off me at one point (to the amusement of the watching visitors) and attempted to feed himself with it to no avail before submitting to my giving it another go!

Poor Emerald Matilda, the blind koala from last week, was euthanased. Another blind koala, Banksia Ted, has come in to be assessed. There is also a Lighthouse Di who is just the cutest looking thing, who might be entering the Sydney uni trials as she is a wet bottom.

Click here to see more photos of this week's koala patients recovering at the Koala Hospital, Port Macquarie.

Every koalawrangler's worst nightmare

William Krystal
From koalawrangler's gallery.

Well, it happened like this...

Being the Australia Day long weekend, the usual Saturday arvo crew were taking a break. As lots of people were pouring into Port Macquarie for the weekend, Port Macquarians were pouring out. There wasn't even a spare teamleader available to run the Saturday afternoon shift.

This might just be a job for....koalawrangler! I just did my first morning teamleading shift on Thursday which went well. I've also worked on a number of afternoon shifts so I know what's involved. There's no leaf-reading required of me or leaf prep required of the team; the bulk of the work is feeding, spraying leaf to freshen it, and topping up the water in the leaf pots.

Deb and I arrive at 1.30pm, which gives us time to inspect the yards. Not one but TWO joeys are down on the gunyah nibbling away. It's Oxley Holly and William Krystal! They look up at us from their luncheon for a moment, as if to say, "oh, it's only the humans", then promptly carry on eating...


Oxley Holly (top) & William Krystal
From koalawrangler's gallery.
We ogle the joeys for a bit then go to take stock of which koalas are up or down so I know which feedpots to make up. Bonny's down, so is Tractive Golfer, but Granite Murray is way, way up his tree.

Inside I start mixing the formula up. Marie, who's giving today's walk-and-talk comes in to introduce herself. There are already a lot of people gathering outside for the 3pm tour outside the yards. Marie explains that she would prefer us to stagger the koala feeding; if we all began the feeding at the same time, some of the koalas would be finished their formula and back to snoozing by the time the group made it around to them. The idea of coinciding the walk-and-talk with the feeding is that the koalas are awake then, which tends to be more entertaining than watching koalas sleep!

So just as Marie is moving the tour group around to the first yard, Deb heads into feed Newport Bridge Gloria. Gloria is a recovering wet bottom. She was shifted outside from her unit in the ICU a few weeks ago. She's doing much better, her bottom is drying out and she's very bright and frisky, which is always a good sign.


Deb feeding Newport Bridge Gloria
From koalawrangler's gallery.
Marie has assembled her group outside the yard as Deb begins feeding Gloria. Unfortunately, Gloria has made her way down from the gunyah onto the ground, which is not optimal for feeding. It's better for the koala to be on the gunyay surrounded by leaf they can latch onto. As it is, Gloria is reaching out and trying to grab onto Deb's arm. She tries to lure Gloria back towards the gunyah, but all she's interested in is continuing to feed.

I'm watching this from the sidelines, outside the yard. I start thinking, "I really should go in there and lift Gloria back onto the gunyah". The other day during a rescue, I scrambled around on my haunches and plucked a koala off the dense branches of an orange tree, without a single scratch. I've also relocated a koala to the gunyah: Hamlyn Bev had attached herself to the metal ring around the tree in her yard, so I picked her up by the forearms as I'd been shown and deposited her easily on the gunyah.

So, technically, it should be no problem this time, right? I enter the yard just as Gloria takes another swipe at Deb who's got a couple of scratch-marks on her arm already. I get behind Gloria and lift her up effortlessly by the arms as I've watched handlers do numerous times, and, with koala in tow, make for the gunyah. Then things start to go pear-shaped.

I don't know why all my koalawrangler wisdom left me at that moment. I should at least have gotten a towel first to protect my arms in case I got a scratch.

The two previous times I'd handled a koala barehanded, I'd been lowering them: either into a bag or onto a low gunyah. This time, it was different. Gloria's gunyah was just too high for me to reach, so as I held her towards the beam she started scratching at me with her back legs. For some insane reason, I'd convinced myself that a koala would be more interested in getting onto the gunyah than biting me, but no, because biting me she was. Biting and scratching. Yow. I was actually really shocked at how hard she managed to bite down. Koalas spend a lot of time chewing leaf practically to a paste, so their jaw muscles are incredibly well developed. Lucky for me, Gloria's top teeth had connected with my fingernail rather than the fleshy part of my finger -- otherwise, she probably would have bitten straight through.

So I soon realise my brilliant tactics aren't working. I'm in pain! I quickly give up and lower Gloria back down to the ground. I don't drop her, but I do let her topple from my grasp as she nears the ground. All this with an audience. I can feel Marie, the guide, wincing, probably trying to imagine how to frame this to make me look less inept. Suffice it to say that I would gladly have the earth open up and swallow me (or have Gloria finish me off) at that moment, rather than endure the alternative of having to face the music in front of a rapt crowd.

What I do know is that I have to keep going. I can't lose momentum. I have to get Gloria onto the gunyah in one simple move now. Fortunately, Deb moves the stool over towards me, as I pluck up Gloria, stand on the stool and plop her on the top beam. Why couldn't it have gone this way the first time?

***
I replayed the event over and over in my mind. I felt so stupid that I expected the koala to try to grip onto the gunyah rather than resist whatever it was I was doing to her. If only I'd thought to jump onto a stool to begin with, or simply lift her onto the lower beam of the gunyah which I was easily above.

It was a learning experience alright. After I beat myself up about it for a while, I realised that you can't learn skills like animal handling without making a few mistakes, although I could have done without all those witnesses.

Click here to see more photos of this week's koala patients recovering at the Koala Hospital, Port Macquarie.

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.

Regatta Lanaye
From koalawrangler's gallery.

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.

Hindman Foxie
From koalawrangler's gallery.

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.

Hamlyn Bev returns to the fold

Hamlyn Bev & Sam
From koalawrangler's gallery.

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.

Hamlyn Bev
From koalawrangler's gallery.

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.

Newport Bridge Gloria
From koalawrangler's gallery.

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.

Old friends

Warrego Martin
From koalawrangler's gallery.

It's been a while since I've run through a day in the life of the koalawrangler. So here goes.

It's my usual Thursday shift. Trish, Jackie, Jared, Jan, Brooke, and Alison the international vollie from Canada.

Amanda asks me if I have a preference which koalas I do. I ask if I can do Warrego Martin's yard. I was aghast when I first heard he was back in with us. He took part in the university trials looking into treatments for Chlamydia. Martin had a distinctive light-coloured coat and a mousy face. He famously used to scamper up his umbrella and lodge in the spokes, monkey-like, whenever we entered his yard. Koalafucius say, "when in doubt, grasshopper, climb as high as you can". It's a trend that's caught on (see photo of Oxley Denise in this post).

Warrego Martin - March 07 From koalawrangler's gallery.

Warrego Martin - March 07 From broken_puzzle's gallery.

When Martin was readmitted to the hospital last week he was looking flat. He had fallen foul of a bunch of ticks which made him anaemic. An ultrasound also showed that his kidneys were backed up. It didn't look good. At best, he was in urgent need of R&R; at worst, well...

So it's a relief to see he's still with us today. He's taken prime position in yard. He's getting fed formula twice daily to build up his strength. I head in with my pot and syringe.

I can tell he's remembering how the feeding works, the way he takes to the syringe. I'm standing up on the stool before him and he seems prefer taking it in the right side of his mouth, which is awkward as he's facing away from me. I endeavour to meet our little patient's needs though. Every once in a while I sense that he's about to reach for me. It's a bit of a reflex with koalas while they're feeding; it makes sense for them to be holding on to branch they're chomping on. Sometimes they treat your arm the same way -- just wanting to hold on. The trouble is that his claws are curved like scimitars and a misplaced grasp could cause a nasty scratch on my arm.

Just then, I see his arm shoot up towards me out of the corner of my eye. I've got the syringe at his mouth and my gut response is simply to let go of the syringe and hop out of his reach. Remarkably, his arm continues its trajectory to his mouth where he retrieves the syringe nimbly in his claws and sits there clutching it, for as though it was what he intended all along! "Tada! And, now, for my next trick!" I pluck the syringe easily from his grip and now I'm back in charge!

I set about preparing martin's leaf. A number of visitors stop by to greet Martin and ask about his story. One lady is crestfallen to see that yard 2's former occupant has been moved.

"A small female koala. With a damaged jaw. Just beautiful," she explains.

"All koalas are beautiful," I tell her. But I do understand that it's possible to get attached to a particular koala from time to time. I wasn't here last week so I'm not sure which koala she's referring to. I assure her I'll check her whereabouts when I next go inside. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she's still with us.

I check with Amanda. It's the koala who's been moved up to yard 10. So Oxley Denise has a fan. I explain to the lady how to find her.

Getting to Martin in yard 2 involves a bit of legwork. You have to pass through yard 1, then yard 3 to reach the interconnecting gate to yard 2. So it's a lengthy process travelling back and forth with bunches of leaf -- new and old -- the feed pot and the poop bucket.

Regatta Lanaye
From koalawrangler's gallery.

Yard 3 is no difficulty to get through since Regatta Lanaye is zonked out, happily snoozing on her gunyah. I recall her name from some time ago. She was last with us in June when she was found on a fence near some dogs. She was brought in for a quick check-up then sent on her way. This time she was noticed near the racecourse. She has developed a cloudiness in her eyes, as you can see in her photo. She's staying with us for observation.

In yard 1, there's Bay Street Macca, whose name is fairly self-explanatory if you know your Port Macquarie geography. Bay Street is the location of one of our two McDonald's family restaurants. Macca was brought in principally because McDonald's is not a great home range for a koala to have (no eucalyptus burgers, alas). He also presented with a left-eye injury. It's been treated now, but you can see that he's got some healing to do. Meanwhile, it's not easy getting from yard to yard with Macca helpfully guarding the gate.


Bay Street Macca
From koalawrangler's gallery.
With Martin's yard done, I get on with Regatta Lanaye. Then it's time for me to check out what's happening inside.

Then I decide it's time to meet Oxley Denise since I've heard so much about her. When I get up to yard 10, I see that it's had some interior decorating.


Oxley Denise's flash new yard
From koalawrangler's gallery.
Previously the smaller yards had bare dirt floors. One of the primary koalawrangling activities is to rake up koala poo, but doing this every day was putting too much strain on the tree roots. One thing that goes hand in hand with koala care is care for the koala food trees that support them. So the yards were covered in wood chip which provided a natural floor covering that protected the trees. It also meant that the poop started to mount up a little; it's hard to separate the koala pellets from the wood chip with a rake, I can tell you. Hence, the very snazzy new oval of astroturf. It's easy to rake and the trees stay happy.


Oxley Denise
From koalawrangler's gallery.

Oxley Denise From koalawrangler's gallery.

Oxley Denise From koalawrangler's gallery.

Back inside, I check who's been in, who's been released. There's good news and bad news. We've got another koala in from my early experience at the hospital: Newport Bridge Gloria is back with chlamydia and not doing very well. Hindman Foxie has been back in. I remember her as a small, sweet-faced little koala. She was brought in which a suspected eye injury but it turned out to be an old complaint so she was released. Opal Austin came back in after a fall from a tree but was released. Oxley Sooney, another koala who I remember from a while back, was brought in moribund condition and was euthanased. Little Tinkerbell, the tiny joey Barb was caring for, sadly died; also Hart Michael went into septic shock as a result of a dog attack. But some good news: Cathie Gower was released! Yay!

Click here to view more of today's koala hospital snaps.

From chocolate koalas to the real thing

I've been overseas for a couple of weeks so the closest I've come to koalas has been the chocolate-filled kind we scoffed plenty of in Japan. The biscuits were ubiquitous at train station shops so we stocked up on them for long rides on shinkansen. One time I couldn't see them at the counter so I flapped my hands at my ears while saying "koala" in my best Japanese accent. Amazingly, the lady knew exactly what I meant. Saying "koala" alone would probably have sufficed, but then I wouldn't have given all those other people on the train platform a demonstration of a koalawrangler on holiday. (The bikkies are called Koala's March, by the way,and each packet contains up to 17 different koala designs. Importantly, they donate part of their profits to the Australian Koala Foundation).

Koala biscuits
From koalawrangler’s gallery.

Now I'm back at the Koala Hospital with the real, inedible kind of koala, and I realise how much I've missed them! There have been visits from old koala patients since I've been gone, some positive, some not so positive: Newport Bridge Gloria, one of the koalas successfully treated under the Sydney University drug trials, was picked up wandering around an auto parts place near the highway. She was checked out and returned to a safe, more koala-friendly place. Calwalla Bill was also brought in for a check-up. He's the one who gave one of the vollies a swipe in ICU when he was last in. He's one of those koalas with a slightly grubby-coloured bottom. The hospital sometimes gets calls about about him from savvy Port Macquarie residents who know a bit about wet-bottom and think they've come across a new sufferer. He turned out to be fine and was sent on his way.

Other koalas revisiting us didn't fare so well. Innes Wonga, who had a gammy knee like our current resident Livingstone Clover, was found limping and died on arrival, as did Koalasaurus Inches. Little Cathie John, one of the joeys being raised by her dedicated homecare Mum also passed away. Before I went away, Judy told me that he had developed an infection and was being seen to by the vet. When I saw that his name was off the homecare board, I feared that he might not have pulled through. A part of the problem was that never quite There are more optimistic stories too: Oxley Sooney came in with a limp, was treated and released. Hastings Teal was admitted and then relocated to a safer area.

Candelo Cool
From broken_puzzle's gallery.

Candelo Cool's still with us. She had a return to ICU for a bit because of heavy rains (where Emma caught her lounging around on her gunyah!), but now she's back outside in the sunshine in yard 10. Ocean Golfer, the other Golfer's (Tractive) masculine competition, is still recovering in yard 10.

The flamboyantly named one-eyed Herschel Grady is the current wet-bottom in ICU. Barton Glen is in ICU with conjunctivitis. There's also Jonas Absalom Blinky who has conjunctivitis and who tumbled into a residential swimming pool.

Of course, the highlight of the hospital right now is Anna Bay Sooty who has newfound celebrity status. When Sooty came to us, she was placed in an outdoor aviary where she proved to be very skittish. She shied away from human contact, usually burying herself in her leaf when handlers were cleaning her unit. We soon discovered that Sooty was hiding more than herself away; she was also hiding a rather special secret. She was carrying a pinkie, the name given to an unfurred joey that lives in its mother’s pouch until it matures and is ready to face the world.

Anna Bay Sooty with poking joey paw
From koalawrangler’s gallery.

Sooty gradually got more used to being in hospital care, submitting to special eye ointments and medication that the hospital staff were using to treat Sooty’s eye complaint. Sometimes one way of treating conjunctivitis in koalas is to operate to remove the third eyelid. There is a special risk attached to this when the koala is carrying a pinkie since the anaesthetic used in the operation may cause the mother to reject the baby. If Sooty rejected her pinkie from the pouch, there is a chance it could die. The hospital is lucky enough to have a humidicrib which can be used to keep pinkies warm in the event of this, but this is no substitute for its own mother’s pouch. And I have it on good authority (Cheyne)that koala pinkies are very difficult to hand-raise.

Luckily, the pinkie remained where it was. Soon, hospital staff were delighted to see the size of Sooty’s pouch increasing and even some movement beneath her fur. Today, we were lucky enough to see a miniature koala hand poking out!

Anna Bay Sooty's joey
From broken_puzzle's gallery.
Over the last few weeks, visitors and vollies alike have been treated to the incomparable joy of seeing the now furred joey’s little face protruding from its mother’s pouch blinking up at the delighted, smiling human faces. It’s a joy having see this young one graduate from hidden pinkie to visible joey in such a seemingly short time. (The joey looks like it's wearing a fur-lined anorak in this photo, like Kenny from South Park!)


Click here to view more of today's koala hospital snaps.

The girls of yard 9

My archaic waitressing skills come in handy as I juggle two feeding pots, syringes and face-washers and go to pick up a third.

Bonny Fire
From koalawrangler's gallery.

It's the Sunday arvo shift again and I turn up at about a quarter past 2. Walking in, I can see the back of Ros's head bobbing about out by the clothesline. There are a few tourists littered around the courtyard outside the shop awaiting the 3pm feed.

I walk into the day-room and can hear Joyce's voice issuing from somewhere down in ICU. I look around at the boards and see two new names -- "Tasman Rose", a female, and "Sandfly Jye", a male.

Joyce says I can go and help Ros with the laundry. I start to fold the towels but Ros tells me it's best to leave those for for another lady who's due to come in who doesn't like doing anything that takes her near the koalas. She just folds towels and wets the leaf. I told Ros that for me it's all about the koalas. I endure the grunt work just so I can be near them.

Belah Irwin
From Broken Puzzle's gallery.

Ros takes me into ICU to show me Belah Irwin (named after Steve), one of the joeys from yard 6 who is scheduled for release. Irwin's mother, Belah Frankie, had had to be euthanased so Irwin spent a few weeks with Joyce in home-care. They're keeping him in ICU so that they can monitor him before his release; if he's kept in yard 6 it may be another six weeks before they get him down; the joeys come and go as they please. With Ocean Kim in yard 9a, only two joeys in yard 6 remain.

Lorna arrives but she's happy to head home and back to a book. "One you're writing or reading?", I wittily inquire. This is of course a private joke between me, myself and I (the struggling writer). Still, they think it's amusing. Lorna offers to feed Kempsey Carolina before she leaves to lighten the load a little.

I flick through the day-book and see that several of the koalas I've tended have now been freed: Newport Bridge Gloria, Ellenborough Kelly and O'Briens Fiona. The first two were in the aviaries for a while, and Fiona was in ICU where she used to try out her Houdini act with the door before she was released to an outside yard. It's satisfying when they go free.

Joyce has finished preparing food for the outside yards. There's Innes Wonga on her own in yard 2 and the four girls in yard 9: Ocean Therese, Wiruna Lucky, Bonny Fire and Birthday Girl. Ros takes Innes Wonga, so Joyce and I set off to yard 9. My archaic waitressing skills come in handy as I juggle two feeding pots, syringes and face-washers and go to pick up a third. Joyce won't let me as she thinks I'll drop them. I bow to Joyce's greater wisdom on this matter.

I haven't had much to do with the girls in yard 9; they are like the hospital's national treasures. Now that I know that koalas can be kept in captivity only by exception, I see why these old girls are so precious.


Wiruna Lucky
From koalawrangler's gallery.
I'm the first to enter the yard and all the girls are still fast asleep. Wiruna Lucky strikes a particularly amusing pose. I place the food and washers on the rack and head off to investigate which sleeping koala is Bonny Fire. I'm told that she has pink on her nose and is smaller than Birthday Girl. Bonny slowly comes to -- all these girls are seasoned feeders and know what's coming. There's no swiping or eeping to worry about.

Bonny Fire
From koalawrangler's gallery.

I stand on the highest part of the turf-green platform where I can reach her best and proceed to squirt the syringe into her mouth. It's strangely intimate being that close to her furry face, watching her little front teeth protrude from time to time. You can concentrate on the details of the animal; the brown eyes, the pink speckles on a black nose; the deformity in the claws from the fire she was rescued from. In my mind's eye I alway saw koala's faces as being flat but their jaw actually protrudes outwards in a prominent fashion. Maybe it's the squat lozenge-shaped nose that gives their faces the illusion of flatness.

Bonny Fire, as her name suggests was rescued from a bush fire. With the adult koalas, the males and females are kept separate except that one of the male patients made a covert visit into yard 9 and knocked Bonny up. The resulting bairn was called Bonny Ash, a local competition being carried out to pick a name that would suit this renegade newcomer. She has since been released back into the wild but is frequently adopted in the adopt-a-wild-koala program.

Jules the tour guide is holding court over near yard 9A where the joeys Ocean Kim and Links VTR are now living. They are more of a drawcard than the older girls, especially since dear Cloud has passed away. Birthday Girl is buried deep in her leaf but starts to reach for me once she sees I have food. She feeds through the fork of her gunyah which is useful since it prevents her from clawing me as she clutches for more formula. I'm just getting to the last syringe-ful as Jules realises there's a feed he could be showcasing. I carry on watering her leaf and then head back to the dayroom.

Ros and Joyce are in with Oxley Westi, the tiny koala with the bulging eyes. Both her eyes must have ointment smeared in them morning and night. According to the board, her eyes are listed as "exopthalmous", but this is merely a high-falutin' description, not a diagnosis. They don't know what causes it. I peer into the unit and both Joyce and Ros are on the floor with little Westi, treating her eyes.

I go off and fill a watering can with water and grab a spray bottle so that Ros can wet the leaf and refill the pots quickly and get out of there. The less disruption to the already strung-out koala, the better. When they're done, Joyce emerges with a trickle of blood running down her calf, courtesy of Ms Westi.

Tractive Golfer
From koalawrangler's gallery.

Tractive Golfer, the long-term incumbent of yard 10, is actually down from his tree so Ros heads off to feed him. Ellenborough Kelly and Macquarie Peter (with whom I have a history) both need feeding so I check with Joyce that it's okay to head off there with their pots of formula.

Jules is delighted that the group will get a front-row seat at Peter's feeding. His yard fronts on to the walking path that the tourists tramp along. He's sitting facing forwrd with his slightly rounded belly and huge furry testicles protruding for all to see. Jules has a running joke about how you can tell whether a koala is male of female. Their ears are tagged: left for males; right for females -- because females are "always right". Boom boom. Of course, you can tell quite clearly that this one is a male; his manly accoutrements are hanging out for all to see.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to feed Peter who's not in any hurry to move into a better position for me to do so. I don't want to do it behind the fork as this will obscure the tourists' view. The more they see, the more they are likely to donate money and adopt, which is what keeps the hospital afloat. I finally work out a way of ducking under the fork and feeding him from the front so as not to affect people's photo opportunities. Peter doesn't make it easy as he pauses between syringes to take mouthfuls of leaf. An American voice remarks that he must like salad with his meal.

Ros is feeding Ellenborough Nancy and finishes watering her, Golfer and Links Lorna. We head back to the staff-room and start on ICU. Joyce is mixing up a clear formula for the two new koalas, Tasman Rose and Sandfly Jye. We're not sure what's wrong with them yet as they were only brought in this morning. I've never fed this clear liquid before and can't imagine that it's as enticing as the white milk-like supplement the others get. Joyce says all we can do is try to feed them and see how they go.

I try Sandfly Jye, the male, first. I'm wary of his striking out, so I take it easy, by dragging up a small stool, but not getting too 'in his face'. He lets me come near but grunts when I put the syringe near his mouth and takes off into the leaf for sanctuary. I don't want to push it and risk a swiping. I just water his leaf and leave.

Tasman Rose
From koalawrangler's gallery.

I'm not optimistic of having any better success with Tasman Rose next door, but give it a go. She's a placid little girl and I speak gently to her as I put the syringe to her mouth. She's not exactly against the idea, but doesn't take the tip of the syringe in. She does however make a little lapping noise that suggests she's ingesting some of the liquid that comes near her mouth. I ask Joyce what to do and she says it's better to get some in than none. I spend ten minutes gradually squirting the liquid at Rose's mouth; 95% ends up on the ground or on the koala, while 5% makes it into her mouth. I paper over the slops on the floor.

I go and collect the money boxes scattered around the yards so that the lady in the shop can count up today's takings and head home. Then I start washing up the pots in washing up liquid -- well koalas first, followed by sick, before rinsing them and filling each with weak antibacterial disinfectant.

We're about done when the phone rings. It's a lady in Sapphire Drive, Emerald Downs, who has just seen the neighbour's dog chase a koala across the yard. The koala has taken off up a palm tree in the caller's yard. She thinks it may be a joey since it is small. It's apparent that I've got a koala situation on the phone. I look about frantically for a pen and paper as the lady gives me her details. I find the rescue list; there's one in the shop. Barb's name is at the top and I give her a call.

In hindsight, I realise that I should have offered to go with Barb since you really need two people for a rescue. But who knows, maybe the koala didn't need to be rescued. Still, at the very least, it would need to be relocated to a safe location where it can't get attacked by dogs. I don't know what I would do if our dog ever did anything to a koala.

Click here to view more of today's koala hospital photos.

Koalawrangler training academy

You can actually use your own body weight to pin the koala against the tree/fence. You use press down on its forehead to stop it climbing and call for assistance. This produces a fanciful picture in my head as I imagine myself discovered in some unlawful position, a frightened koala wedged between myself and a tree...

Birthday Girl & friend
From koalawrangler's gallery.
Today Cheyne held a koala handling and rescue training workshop using both real and toy koalas. Can you tell the difference?

A bunch of us koala-wrangling novices signed up and we got to learn the best way to pick up a koala -- both in day-to-day handling and rescue situations. (I can't say that I ever expected my life to contain the potential for "day-to-day koala handling", but there you have it).

We all sat around the day-room table -- there are a few familiar faces such as Yasmin from Thursdays and Jules the tour guide, as well as about 10 others I haven't met before. I guess these must be the volunteers for the other days. It's hard to imagine this place with others doing the job you do on your own shift -- you maintain the illusion that the place goes into suspended animation when you're gone. It's also hard to imagine others tending to the koalas you've been looking after. The connection feels so intimate, probably because we translate the koalas' natural passivity into trust and affection. I know I feel it and I've noticed how ardently some of the long-term koala volunteers express the relationship they perceive between themselves and a particular koala. Some of these people have been tending to the koalas for years and the result is often a fierce if one-sided bond. I overhear that Oxley Griffin and Pacific Sam have both been released since I was last here. My immediate reaction is: I shared something with these little critters and now they're gone.

Someone brandishes a copy of the Port Macquarie News. They had printed an article about little Cloud, the tiny grey koala who was badly burnt in the 1994 bush fires but lived in the koala hospital for the next 13 years. She was euthanased on Saturday. Another woman who I think was the team-leader for the afternoon shift said, "well, I can't read that now or I'll cry. There's been a lot of tears shed over this koala and no-one deserves to cry about it more than me. I was closer to Cloud than anyone". She pushed the article aside and returns her eyes to the day-book. It's an urgent affection I've also found myself feeling after only a few short weeks, so I can understand something of her sentiment.

Cheyne bustles into the room in her usual blue v-neck hospital blouse and shorts. She's laid two large koala-rescue poles on the floor and assembled a koala-rescue kit for us to see. Before the session starts, Cheyne tells us that if any of us are interested in fire-ground work then we should tell her at the end. By fire-ground she means searching areas where fires have come through for surviving koalas. I don't know if I could do it -- I read about the demise of Perch Miracle on the Hospital website, a koala who was literally heat-sealed to her tree. Still she was rescued and survived for some years before she died unexpectedly. Cheyne warns us that it is dangerous work -- you need to undertake fire awareness training offered by the state before you are allowed onto the fire-ground site.

But today we are to begin simply with how to approach a koala with the intention of picking it up. I'm delighted when she refers to the skills involved as a sort of "koala whispering". We consult the handout she has provided, entitled Basic Koala Handling. The priority is to ensure no injuries are sustained by the handler -- if the handler is okay, there is a better chance that the koala will be okay.

We talk about how to read koala body language. If you get bitten or scratched by the koala, you're probably doing something wrong. There is a lengthy list of signs to look for that carry meanings that can be deciphered by the koala-whisperer-trained eye: ear-flicking (which I first experienced with Tozer Tom back on my first day) can mean pain or irritation. Eye-popping is also a sign of fear, which they often see in koalas on the treatment table. Some signs are more ambiguous; a very quiet koala can mean it is very ill or just good-tempered.

Cheyne raises the interesting point of anthropomorphism, essentially ascribing an animal with human characteristics or projecting human feelings onto them. For example, a koala might extend its face towards its handler in a Kiwi greeting fashion. This is a gesture seeking smell recognition, not affection! Equally, when a contented koala reaches its arms towards you, it is not for a hug; it's in order to get more formula or leaf. Cheyne's intention appears to be to shatter our fragile illusions about the bond we imagine we have with the koalas. According to Cheyne, we are simply "walking formula/leaf" to the koalas. We all joke that of course we knew that, but secretly harbour our own convictions that, "no, they really love me! My relationship with them is special!"

She also shatters another illusion: koalas aren't too bright as a species. They are simply not very intelligent; they have a basic plan. I wait for her to say "eats, shoots and leaves". Geoff offers "eats, sleeps and makes nuggets (poop)" instead. Cheyne tells us that the koala brain is not very convoluted, but is instead fairly smooth. Its spheres are also quite separate. The wombat, the koala's closing relative, is actually smarter. Cheyne hastens to add that "more advanced" doesn't mean better: just look at humans and how well we've screwed things up for ourselves.

So we've got to think like koalas and not like humans, whatever that means. Some koalas are just "fruitcakes"; that is, wild and unpredictable in human terms, but the way koalas should be. These are generally the koalas that have had very little to do with humans, like those from the Ellenborough region. The local koalas are used to people, which is not really a good thing. So fruitcake = good, unless you're trying to rescue one.

Cheyne & Wiruna Lucky
From koalawrangler's gallery.

We go outside with the equipment and into yard 9 where the permanent girls are. We're not going to each be able to pick up a koala today -- "the poor thing'll be worn out", says Cheyne. But she gives us a demonstration on one of the girls. The first thing is to give the koala some warning of your intentions by speaking softly and gently running your hand up the koala's back. This seems counter-intuitive to me; my experience with our cat is to do everything quickly before she has a chance to scratch/bite, like wait till she's asleep before sneaking up on her and stuffing her quickly in the catbox. But this is not how koalas are made. They're not braced to attack, but can be unpredictable especially after undergoing a trauma.

Jules the guide wants to know how to get a koala to release its "Arnold Schwarzenegger grip" on the gunyah/tree. Because their claws are not retractable, it's difficult to lift them off -- but, to return to the cat analogy, it's not like they're gripping to resist you, they simply can't release their claws if you're pulling against them. The key is to slip your fingers under their wrists and push their forearm forward to release their claws. Cheyne demonstrates on Wiruna Lucky, one of the placid gang-of-four girls in yard 9. She looks slightly piqued, but submits. Cheyne also demonstrates how to stop a koala from advancing: simply press its forehead gently. The same technique is used to stop a koala climbing up a tree.

Cheyne & Wiruna Lucky
From koalawrangler's gallery.

The handout talks about three types of koalas: quiet, bitey, and frightened. I can't help but think of cheese when I read "bitey", as in Bega Strong & Bitey vintage cheddar. The "quiet" koalas need less precautionary measures than bitey or frightened koalas. Even if you are aware of all the signs to read that indicate fear or irritation, Cheyne says that a koala may look placid enough but could have cortisol (a stress hormone) coursing through its body (making it a fruitcake-in-waiting).

Cheyne & Wiruna Lucky
From koalawrangler's gallery.

Most of the koalas we tend in the hospital seem quiet, but then I haven't had to pick one up yet. Where a koala is "bitey", it's recommended that you enjoy it with water crackers and a slice of cabanossi... just kidding! With the bitey ones you let them know you're coming as with the quiet variety, but you place a thick towel around their shoulders and arms and then place your arms under the towel edges to protect yourself from a potential bite as you lift them up. You should try to keep the dangling koala at arm's length and even swing them foward as it may craftily try to swing its legs backwards to grab you with its back claws. Bitey and scratchy! Also, koalas should never be picked up under the arms or around the ribs.

With even more tetchy koalas (the really "frightened" kind), a bag is used. Bagging is the primary means of securing koalas during a rescue. Although, Cheyne suggested that this is often best-case scenario; sometimes a rescuer has to use whatever means is at their disposal at the time. For example, if you suddenly need to stop a koala from escaping a yard -- say one that is scaling a fence, or in a rescue situation when a koala is descending a tree -- you can actually use your own body weight to pin the koala against the tree/fence. You use press down on its forehead to stop it climbing and call for assistance. This produces a fanciful picture in my head as I imagine myself discovered in some unlawful position, a frightened koala wedged between myself and a tree. Cheyne assures us: "It won't hurt them; it's better than letting them escape".

The bag used is made of canvas. Often the handler has to assess the situation to determine the angle of approach. The bag can be place over the head and brought back to the rump or can be slid from the rump up over the head; whatever method gets the koala in the bag with the least amount difficulty and stress for both animal and human is best. Oh, and once the koala is in the bag, it generally pees straight away (which is exactly what Treetop Boxer did when he was first transferred outside, prior to his release). If the koala is being brought into ICU for treatment, it's best to know which 'end' they need. Sometimes it's the bottom for an injection or the top for feeding. Either way, it's best to try to keep the rest of the koala in the bag (it's less stressful for them) and expose only the end requiring jabbing or feeding.

Cheyne & Ocean Therese
From koalawrangler's gallery.

At this point, Ocean Therese decides to wander over to see what was happening (or more likely to see if Cheyne has any formula for her). Cheyne mock-rouses on her then plucks her off the gunyah and proceeds to hold her in such an expert yet cuddlesome way...show-off! :)

Next we look at what's involved in a rescue, when the koala is not right in front of you on the gunyah, but half a kilometre up a tree. We're using a fake koala, so no koalas were hurt or injured in the course of this rescue! The best scenario involves three handlers: two with poles and one with a bag to catch the koala at the other end. We each have a go at holding the pole. It's not enough to just hold it; you have to hold the full weight of it up above your head. "Imagine holding that up for twenty minutes, chasing a koala that's springing from branch to branch", says Cheyne. The healthy koalas are the hardest to catch.

Rescue training
From koalawrangler's gallery.

The pole resembles a paint roller. It has a flat end wrapped in a towel. This is used to press down on the koala's forehead like Cheyne showed us. Of course, that was on a koala immediately in front of us. In the reality of a rescue I can see how it would be like trying to use this huge pole to thread a needle. The two pole-wielders ease the koala down to the bagger at the bottom. But it's a mistake to think that a koala will just back into the bag; it will try to hightail it back up the tree as soon as it can. You need to place the bag over its head and manoeuvre its claws upward to disengage them from the trunk. Sounds so easy. Oh, and make sure you avoid thwacking powerlines with your pole. If the koala is too high, that's when to call in Country Energy to bring over a cherry-picker.

Cheyne also shows us how to 'pack' a koala. They use two washing baskets; one filled with rolled up towels and another for a lid. The koala is nestled into the basket and then covered with the other basket, which is tied on with bike cord. It's also important to cover the basket to prevent the koala from being further distressed. The last thing it needs after it has experienced trauma is staring human faces. This is especially true of joeys and victims of dog attacks or motor vehicle accidents (MVA). These koalas should also be handled a little differently; they should never be held up by the arms since they may have undergone a fracture or internal injuries. It's best to wrap these koalas up in a towel and pack them securely with a rolled up towel at each side. They should also be kept upright to keep their passageways clear in case of lung damage. Another type of koala to be aware of in rescue situations are those that are blind. They may run in circles in a disorientated fashion.

I noticed on the boards inside that all the aviary koala have been moved to the new small subdivisions in yard 10. At least they are outside now, except that this means they are without proper shelter. I go to see how they are faring. At least someone has erected a pot high on the middle vertical branch so that there is some shelter overhead. I'm happy for Macquarie Peter, who I've now seen progress from ICU to an aviary to the yards. The girls are out here too: Ellenborough Kelly and Newport Bridge Gloria. I also check on Elizabeth Noddy who wakes up to greet me.

Click here to view more of today's koala hospital photos.