Adopt Me!Butters came to Friends of the Koala in May 2020 when he was about 9 months old. He was found next to a busy road, desperately trying to climb a large tree. As the tree was way too big for him, he fell and ended up with a face full of dirt. Luckily, members of the public called the Friends of the Koala rescue hotline and he was rescued.

Rescue volunteers bundled him up in a rescue cage and took him to the Care Centre to be assessed. After completing lots of tests, the vet confirmed he had no physical injuries and weighed a healthy 1.06 kilograms. As he was so young and needed round the clock care, he went home with a volunteer koala carer.

He cried constantly for his mum during the first couple of nights but eventually settled in with his carer and gradually started to gain weight and explore his surroundings. After about a month in home care, he started to spend his days in the koala kindy at Friends of the Koala but would still go home at night with his carer . While he was hesitant at first after a couple of days, he settled in the kindy well and began to show Dimples, Dita and Meggs who was boss.

To prepare him for the wild, he was moved (with Dimples and Meggs) to a plantation kindy. It is still a fenced area, but allows young koalas to practice their climbing skills, eat leaf from a real tree and experience all types of weather for the first time. Vet staff routinely checked up on Butters over a couple of weeks and were thrilled with his progress. So, after a final assessment, he was released back into the wild.

Adopt Butters!