Wildlife carer Noela King shares how locals should help injured or sick koalas

A Burnett wildlife carer has spoken about the joy of saving one of the biggest and healthiest koalas she’s seen in the region for years.

A wildlife carer has spoken of the magical moment she saved one of the largest and healthiest koalas she’s seen in the Burnett for a long time.

Wildlife carer Noela King said she got a call to a farm on the outskirts of Kingaroy where a koala was cling to a shed support post, with dogs underneath very interested in the furry creature.

“If it would have hopped down, the dogs would have killed it,” Ms King said.

After grabbing the scared animal, Ms King said they checked it over and found it was uninjured and in “good nick”.

“(He) was a big, beautiful boy,” she said.

Large Koala saved from dogs by Burnett wildlife carer Noela King.

The big fella was released back up a tree and Ms King said he was one of the healthiest koalas she’d seen in a long time in the Burnett.

“You don’t see many (like him), you always get a lot that are sick, or old or babies,” she said.

Ms King said a telltale way to determine if a koala was injured or sick was if they weren’t up a tree – with unwell animals often sitting at the base of trees or cling halfway up small trees.

But she warned residents should call a wildlife carer and not attempt to approach or pick up the koala, even if they appeared calm when approached.

“It’s not quiet and tame, it’s because its going into shock … you scare the life out of them. You’ve got to remember they’re a wild animal,” she said.

She also urged locals to take the time to check the pouches of marsupials killed on roads, as often young joeys could survive the impact with care, survive.

Anyone with concerns for a wild animal can contact Wildlife Rescue South Burnett on 0499 682 908

Originally published as Wildlife carer Noela King shares how locals should help injured or sick koalas