Koala Diaries Blog

Our little website got off to a flying start, with thousands of hits and hundreds of members now involved.  Thank you to each and every one of you for taking an active interest.  Alex and I hope that our site will empower individuals and groups not already involved in koala conservation efforts, but who want to be, and also validate the efforts and concerns of those who are.  As we compile more and more data we will be able to produce a very powerful presentation on what’s really going on with our koala populations in Queensland.  More

Nothing is more heartbreaking to koala rehabilitators than the loss of a rescued, injured koala. A lot of expertise, time and emotional energy is invested in each and every animal saved. It is gut-wrenching for them to continue to treat the same animal, time after time as it is returned to the location of rescue, to again be hit by a car or mauled by a dog. There was a situation last year where the same koala was patched up four times, until he eventually died. To then hear as we did recently about a koala and her joey being shot, is devastating.  The baby joey, named Doug by rescuers, died this week.  More

It all began with some very hot days, and a few emails bouncing around the place early in 2009 showing photos of koalas reaching out - I mean physically hands up in the air, clearly asking for water. (See the Hot Days photo gallery.) Carolyn Beaton - close friend, neighbour, koala carer and, until recently, public relations manager at the Australian Wildlife Hospital - and I began a discussion about how great it would be to share with the world just how communicative, smart, funny and affectionate koalas really are.  More