Cute koala shuts down Port Macquarie power, leads her rescuers up pole for a third time
Port Macquarie’s most mischievous koala, Crummer PJ, was back to her old tricks this week climbing her favourite power pole on Crummer St for the third time in 12 months. Essential Energy workers took no chances during her risky retrieval, shutting down street power before navigating her safely to the ground.
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A case of mistaken identity is being blamed on the mischievous activities of a Port Macquarie koala who may be confusing a Crummer St power pole for a succulent Eucalyptus tree.
For the third time in 12 months the female koala – Crummer PJ – has been spotted scaling the same timber structure, before resting in her favourite corner perilously close to fatal power lines.
A rescue team from Essential Energy was called to the scene when she was spotted up the pole. They took no chances in their bid to ground her safely, cutting power to the street before safely flagging her down using specialised non-conductive rescue poles.
Port Macquarie Koala Hospital Conservation Manager Scott Castle said the 10-year-old is no stranger to causing a bit of chaos for Crummer Street locals.
“She’s been up and down the same pole for the third time this year,” he said.
“What I can say is that it’s [the power pole] is most likely on a route that she takes between feeding streets.
“They do just wander between street to street, tree to tree, and power poles do look like trees so it’s no surprise [she’s up there].
“In this case we released her straight away, she’s been here many times before, we took a quick look and she was fine.”
“We released her in a nearby location. It’s important to note that we can’t take her too far away down into Forrest because she has a home range here, if she’s dumped in unknown territory, she’ll come looking for her home and become less and less fit.
“When that happens, they usually perish.”
Any koala found in urban locations by a member of the public and transported to the Port Macquarie Hospital is given naming rights. Mr Castle said it’s usually common practice to name them after the street they’re located on.
They’re then tagged and micro-chipped, given a health check, and released into the wild if safe to do so.
Microchipping gives the hospital the ability to track and record their medical condition throughout their lifetime.
“It also gives us a good idea of population dynamics,” Mr Castle said.
Mr Castle said it is becoming less and less rare to see Port Macquarie koalas in urban streets, particularly on roads.
He cautioned people to take extra care in the event that they might see one in a vulnerable location.
“More and more we are seeing koalas in places such as local shops, schools and factories, which is funny and exciting for the people working there, but it does present a risk to their [koala’s] safety,” he said.
“Most importantly, the take home message for everyone is – they’re on our roads.
“People do need to be careful, particularly this time of year as it’s breeding season so they’re more active.
“They’re also in our backyards, so limiting our pets’ access to wildlife is also very important.”