Koala hospital Port Macquarie

None of us is a big fan of zoos. But since there are not nearly as many koalas in the wild as there used to be, you have to be very lucky to see one otherwise.
However, we found a great solution to introduce Vivi to these marsupials nevertheless. Port Macquarie is home to a wonderful small koala hospital where dedicated volunteers take care of injured or orphaned koalas and try to relocate them to their "homezones" where possible. Only if the injuries are so severe that the animal wouldn't survive in the wild, the koala is kept and cared for there. At our time of visit, there were eight cute little furballs that permanently live at the hospital, due to illness (mostly clamydia affecting the eyes and turning them blind), car accidents (causing brain damage) or bush fires (leaving one koala with badly burned claws). A few were being kept from the public, getting them ready to be returned to the wild.
Did you know that the koala is almost the same as it was 2million years ago? And that it is an aboriginal name meaning "little water" ( a koala only needs to drink once the leaves have dropped 65% of their water content). Or that it sleeps 18-20hrs a day in order to digest the heavily toxic eucalyptus leaves it eats? Mothers inoculate their babies gut to help them survive on these leaves. Quite a remarkable animal! If you live on Australia's east coast (yes, the koalas don't live all throughout Australia), please help saving them by planting suitable trees, making sure your dogs don't hurt them and drive carefully. I'm sure with joint efforts they will be saved and future generations will still be as amazed as we were.Read more