Greg learned later that feeding a koala water from a bottle can be devastating for the marsupials. Image by Odin Watson.
Photo by
Contributed, Odin Watson
Katandra’s Greg Watson is a wildlife lover, therefore he couldn’t just drive past a grounded koala at Ulupna Island without stopping to check if it was all right.
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And lucky he did.
Mr Watson and his 14-year-old son, Odin, had been camping at the popular bush destination on the Murray River, known for its teeming koala population, when they found the marsupial disoriented and rubbing its eyes.
“On closer inspection, its eyes were stuck closed,” Mr Watson said.
“So I poured water on them and cleaned them.”
Mr Watson said when he was wiping the animal’s face, it grabbed the water bottle, so he gave it a drink.
He later learned that was the wrong thing to do after speaking with Kirsty Ramadan at Bunbartha’s Bohollow Wildlife Shelter, whom Mr Watson called to retrieve the sick animal for care.
When hydrated via a bottle, koalas risk water being forced into their lungs and developing aspiration pneumonia.
Greg knows not to give a koala from a water bottle if he comes across another one, no matter how demanding it is. Image by Odin Watson.
Photo by
Contributed, Odin Watson
He had earlier considered picking up the koala to transport it but admitted he was too scared to try after seeing the “huge” size of the wild creature’s claws up close and almost getting nipped by it.
Nonetheless, he wasn’t going to leave it in distress.
“It’s always an exhilarating experience helping any wildlife,” Mr Watson said.
Mr Watson said the koala had responded well to the treatment it received at Bohollow Wildlife Shelter and would “hopefully be released when well”.
Bohollow Wildlife Shelter is a registered voluntary 24-hour rescue service that rescues, rehabilitates and releases native animals back into their natural environment.
If you have any wildlife emergency, concern or have found any injured or orphaned native wildlife in the Goulburn Valley, phone Deb Fowler on 0418 328 671 or Kirsty Ramadan on 0447 636 953.
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