I am not a koala carer. Our website, Koaladiaries.com.au is born of the realisation that I am in the majority, knowing very little about the koala. Already it has taught me so much about this truly wonderful animal. I have learned from people around the country submitting sightings with details such as "sitting in a Jacaranda", "swimming from Rabbit Island to Newry Island" and more.
But most of my learning has come from the wonderful volunteer rescuers and carers. Their generosity of spirit, dedication and commitment to saving our wildlife is astounding. It is unfunded by government, and even conservation groups intent on political agendas rather than conservation ones. I salute these carers for their resilience under enormous emotional pressure, and their pure joy for the success stories, despite the overwhelming volume of negative ones.
At Christmas I had the pleasure of spending time with Anika Lehmann, who works tirelessly in both rescue and care with Moreton Bay Koala Rescue. Anika had in her care, a tiny handful of koala she named Yani. Having nothing but my iPhone on me, I filmed her feeding Yani and took the opportunity of an impromptu interview for the uninitiated (like me).
Cute, delightful, sad, are the words that come to me on viewing this, the first of our videos on our new YouTube channel. Apologies for the sound quality - you might have to turn the volume up. I hope it gives you a renewed respect for these wonderful people who work long hours unpaid, who do not seek the limelight or boast about their achievements, but get on with the business of saving koalas. I hope too, that it brings home the plight of our koala population if they continue to die at the rate we are currently experiencing.
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