This Christmas, you can give a gift that truly matters – a safer future for koalas in the Northern Rivers and across Australia via timely and expert medical care for injured Northern Rivers koalas. Friends of the Koala is launching our Christmas fundraising campaign to complete the Northern Rivers Koala Hospital expansion. We need your … Read more
Hospital
Give a Gift That Keeps on Giving: Christmas with Friends of the Koala
As the festive season approaches, many of us are thinking about meaningful gifts – sustainable stocking fillers that don’t cost the world and truly matter. With koalas under increasing threat, the team at Friends of the Koala invites you to give something special this year: a gift that supports real koalas, real habitats, and real … Read more
Koala Chlamydia Vaccine Update – 100 doses of Koala Vaccine delivered
Friends of the Koala are proud to share an exciting update in our ongoing work with the Chlamydia vaccine research trials with Professor Peter Timms, Dr Nina Pollak and Dr Samuel Phillips from the University of Sunshine Coast. This week, our team welcomed 100 doses of Koala Chlamydia Vaccine, the world’s first approved koala Chlamydia … Read more
High Koala Fatalities This Breeding Season – Please Drive with Care
It has been a heartbreaking few weeks in the Northern Rivers, with five koalas hit on the Bruxner Highway in just the last seven days. Each of these losses is a stark reminder of how fragile our local koala population is. It also highlights the need for drivers to take extra care during breeding season … Read more
Koala Kindy and Care Centre Sept 2025
We have a short update for you this month, as the Friends of the Koala team has experienced an unexpected run of heartbreak. It has been a particularly challenging period, with several koalas arriving in critical condition or having developed complications from their injuries and/or disease and, sadly, they were unable to recover. Despite every … Read more
Koala Kindy and Care Centre May 2025
Welcome to May at Friends of the Koala. It’s been a very wet beginning to the month here in the Northern Rivers with steady rainfall in the region, and some areas recording up to 100 mm of rain. Luckily though we haven’t been as severely impacted as other regions on the mid North Coast which … Read more
Hospital Expansion
The Northern Rivers Koala Hospital officially opened in 2021 although we employed our first Veterinary Surgeon and received the approval to operate a specialist Koala Hospital in 2020, 5 years ago now. Since then, the demand for our services has continued to grow in response to the increasingly challenging environment for koalas. We now tend … Read more
Meet Dr Kate Thomas: Compassionate Care at the Heart of Koala Medicine
We’re thrilled to introduce Dr Kate Thomas, our new Superintendant Veterinarian taking over from Dr Jodie Wakeman. With over a decade of experience in animal care, Dr Kate brings a powerful mix of compassion, clinical expertise, and a deep commitment to conservation. Since joining us in September 2024, Dr Kate has been making an incredible … Read more
Koala Kindy and Care Centre March 2025
Hello from the Northern Rivers where we continue to rescue koalas in the aftermath of Cyclone Alfred as well as clean up the destruction left behind. As our recovery efforts continue, we acknowledge our amazing heroes – our volunteers who stood strong, ensuring our koalas in need were reported and rescued under extremely challenging conditions. … Read more
Koala Kindy and Care Centre February 2025
G’day from everyone at Friends of the Koala – especially the furry ‘nap champions of the world’ in our Koala Care Centre! The vibe here is – you guessed it – laid back, koalas (like Australians) are known to be pretty unfazed about most things – except perhaps a male adversary and a good eucalyptus … Read more
