Baby Koala Has Been Separated From Mother And Alone During Bushfires Before Hero Dog Rescued Him

Sep 27, 2020 by apost team

Taylor the rescue dog is trained to find koalas hiding in trees where her handler and other animal rescuers are able to extract the baby koala in 2019.

The year 2020 has been quite a challenging year. It has especially been devastating for Australia. From late 2019 through to the early months of 2020, Australia experienced a series of devastating bushfires that razed the natural habitats of many animals. The blazing fires killed millions of animals while causing injuries to many others.

Among the most affected animals were koalas, with over 8,000 koalas dying in the fires. The fires also destroyed over 30% of the natural habitat of the Koalas. In the midst of all the raging fires, there were concerted efforts by people to rescue the animals, especially koalas, who were in grave danger.

Volunteers were critical in rescuing koalas from the burning forests. Animal hospitals provided safe havens and sanctuaries for the injured animals. Dogs were also part of the rescue mission as they helped locate people and animals requiring help.

One of the rescue dogs helping retrieve people and animals from the carnage was Keli. The Animal Club writes that the dog was able to find a lone baby koala that was in bad shape and in need of urgent help. The tiny animal was underweight, malnourished, and dehydrated when Keli found him. The lone baby Koala would have surely died had Keli the rescue dog not found him.

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The rescuers rushed to the Koala Hospital Port Macquarie where the doctors first started treating the life-threatening fungal infection he had. With great patience and care, the staff at the hospital took care of the koala until the infection healed and he started regaining his health.

A post by the Koala Hospital Port Macquarie through their Facebook page gave an update on the recovery of the koala, highlighting his shape when Keli rescued him and his current shape.

When Keli rescued the baby Koala, he only weighed 275 grams. However, aftercare at the hospital, he regained his health and added weight to about 1 kg. His fur, which had previously been affected by the fungal infection, also started growing back. In celebrating the progress, the Koala Hospital Port Macquarie posted,

“Just a brighter moment in all the tragedy in Australia at the moment we wanted to share something good. Meet Koala Street Keli who was found abandoned on the ground on 8th September 2019, in very poor shape with a fungal infection and only weighing 275 grams. Look at Keli today a whopping 1 kg in weight, the fungal infection has gone and all his fur is regrowing.”

Although Koala Street Keli lost his family during the fires, the rescue gave him another chance at life. He will be able to go to one of the safe habitats in the wild once he recovers fully. The hospital staff continue to monitor his progress and eagerly look forward to him attaining 2.5 kg. According to the hospital,

“It’s still early days yet, we will get very excited when he makes 2.5 kg and it’s time for him to come into the “dehumanising trees ” in preparation for release back to the wild. Release will not happen until the cooler months, and thankfully there is still some good habitat left in selected locations.”

There is great need to make all efforts to preserve wildlife. The rescue efforts of the volunteers ought to be recognized. You can help create awareness by spreading the word about the rescue of the abandoned baby koala.