Rescued koala joey wins the hearts of wildlife carers

Thursday, February 8, 2018

A joint effort by local wildlife rescue organisations has resulted in a very lucky koala joey nicknamed ‘Vivian’ being released back into the wild after months of treatment and recovery.

When WIRES volunteers arrived to rescue Vivian last September they had grave concerns for the survival of the tiny 18 month old female koala. She weighed a mere 3kg and had sustained serious internal injuries following an altercation with a dog after wandering into a residential area.

After gently being captured Vivian was taken to local Vet Ray Barnett at Clarence Valley Vets who stabilised her before Friends of Koala transported her to Currumbin Wildlife Hospital.

There she underwent an operation to repair her perforated intestines. Coincidentally Prince Andrew was visiting Currumbin at the time and he observed the extremely delicate operation.

Vivian’s lengthy rehabilitation was carried out at Australia Zoo and when finally given the all clear Friends of Koala collected and transported her back to NSW.

She was released back into a safe environment by WIRES volunteers two weeks ago according to local member Vickii Lett.

"It is really sad to see such a young koala so traumatised but Vivian is such a little fighter she won everyone's hearts,” said Ms Lett. “Thanks to the cooperation and commitment by a number of wildlife care organisations it was an excellent outcome and she has made a full recovery.”

"Koalas are known to sometimes wander into residential areas and so we ask residents who live in those areas to please take measures to protect wildlife from pets particularly at dusk and dawn when they are most active,” added Ms Lett.

The NSW Office of Environment and Heritage has listed koalas as a Threatened Species. If you see a koala that appears to be ill, injured or displaced or any other native animal please call the WIRES Rescue office on 13000 WIRES (1300 094 737) or "Report a Rescue” by following the links on the website www.wires.org.au or download the free Wildlife rescue app.

WIRES is a not for profit organisation and relies almost entirely on public donations - you can add your support and help save the lives of our native animals by donating at wires.org.au

Please send through any media enquiries to [email protected].

ABOUT WIRES

WIRES is Australia’s largest wildlife rescue organisation. WIRES has been rescuing and caring for sick, injured and orphaned native animals for over 35 years with a mission to actively rehabilitate and preserve Australian wildlife and inspire others to do the same. WIRES’ Wildlife Rescue Office answers calls from the community 24/7, 365 days a year, providing rescue advice and assistance for over 130,000 animals annually. Connecting wildlife to real-time assistance, WIRES full-time mobile Wildlife Ambulances operate across New South Wales, South-East Queensland and Tasmania, and WIRES had over 3,500 volunteers assisting with wildlife rescue and care in NSW. WIRES is supporting thousands of wildlife carers across Australia through a diverse range of national programs. WIRES also collaborates nationally with strategic partners to support the long-term recovery of wildlife habitat and the long-term preservation of native species in the wild.

For more information on WIRES wildlife programs visit www.wires.org.au.

MEDIA CONTACTS

WIRES Media Officer: John Grant | 0416 272 153 | [email protected]

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