In the mean time the hospital is treating the wounded koalas. Bush fires have devastated so much of the koala’s habitat. And it’s not just the koalas that have been affected.
Here’s an abstract from their website:
The first koala to be treated following the devastating bush fires at Lake Innes, south of Port Macquarie arrived at the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital on Saturday. Found in scorched koala bushland, LINR Paul’s fur is singed and his feet and hands are burnt.
The Crestwood-Lake Innes fire started a week ago after a lightning strike. In the last week the fire has travelled down the coast, south of Port Macquarie to the Lake Cathie area.
The impact of this fire on wildlife is a national tragedy. Experts from the Koala Hospital, the Koala Recovery Partnership and Port Macquarie Hastings Council estimate up to 350 koalas may have perished as fire burnt through the koala habitat. The koalas in the area are of national significance due to their genetic diversity.
Sue Ashton, President, Port Macquarie Koala Hospital, said, “Under the guidance of the Rural Fire Service (RFS), trained volunteers from the Koala Hospital conducted search and rescue exercises to retrieve injured koalas. They worked tirelessly in hot, smoky, dangerous conditions to find koalas and bring them to the Koala Hospital.”
The teams in the field were supported by volunteers at the hospital, many doing back-to-back shifts to receive, assess and care for the injured koalas. Simple, but essential tasks like washing rescue bags, cleaning and preparing rescue baskets kept the rescuers supplied with necessary equipment.
In addition, the local community and wider population rallied to support the Koala Hospital. It received donations of food for the rescuers, mittens for injured koala’s paws, pharmaceutical and medical supplies. Some children emptied their money boxes and while others, made donations of money to the hospital. Funds raised will be used to purchase water stations which will be positioned in the burnt-out bushland to supply water to koalas and other
wildlife.
The hospital has set up a Go Fund Me page to accept donations to help purchase the water stations at
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-thirsty-koalas-devastated-by-recent-fires
The Koala Hospital operates a 24×7 rescue service so if anyone finds an injured koala please call the Koala Hospital on 6584 1522.
