It’s one of the questions we get asked most at the Northern Rivers Koala Hospital: how long do koalas actually live? The honest answer is: it depends, and some of the stories that have come through our Koala Care Centre over the years might surprise you. How long do koalas live in the wild? In … Read more
News
National Koala Conference 2026
Ten of our team headed down to Port Macquarie from 20 to 22 July for this year’s National Koala Conference. Four vets, our Regional Koala Officer Angie Brace, two Management Committee members and three volunteers all made the trip, a great turnout for what is always one of the highlights of the koala conservation calendar. … Read more
Brightheart’s Story: Thank You for Supporting Our Koala Hospital
Thank You: Your Support is Powering Our Koala Hospital Expansion When six month old joey Brightheart arrived at Friends of the Koala on 22 May, she weighed just 324 grams and had lost her mum. Brightheart came to us from South Gundurimba alongside her mother, Shadowheart, after Shadowheart was struck by a car. X-rays showed … Read more
Koala Chlamydia Vaccine Breakthrough: What the New Implant Means for the Northern Rivers
Koala Chlamydia Breakthrough: What It Means for the Northern Rivers Chlamydia remains the biggest challenge facing koalas in our region. Last financial year it accounted for 55% of all admissions to our hospital, more than every other cause of injury and illness combined. So when there is genuine progress in understanding and treating this disease, … Read more
Koala Kindy and Care Centre July
Welcome to July at Friends of the Koala. It has been a busy few weeks here as phase two of the Northern Rivers Koala Hospital expansion is underway. It is an exciting time, though it also brings some disruption for our koalas, volunteers and the entire team over the coming months. We are grateful for … Read more
Koala Care and Veterinary Education: Our Partnership with Southern Cross University
At Friends of the Koala, we have always believed that koala rescue and rehabilitation goes hand in hand with investing in the people who will care for koalas in the future. That is why we are so proud of our ongoing collaboration with Southern Cross University, which is helping to shape the next generation of … Read more
Northern Rivers Koala Network Celebrates 10 Years of Collaboration
Ten years of connecting communities, councils and conservation efforts across the Northern Rivers. The Northern Rivers Koala Network (NRKN) is marking its 10th anniversary, celebrating a decade of collaboration to protect koalas and restore their habitat across the Northern Rivers of New South Wales. The Network began in 2016 when Friends of the Koala brought … Read more
Koala Kindy and Care Centre June
Welcome to June at Friends of the Koala. Breeding season is officially here and that means koalas are on the move! June also brings us to the end of the financial year, and we wanted to take a moment to share where we are with our hospital expansion fundraiser. Thanks to the incredible support of … Read more
Celebrating 16 years of partnership with Rous County Council
This World Environment Day, 5 June 2026 we are standing proud with our partner, Rous County Council (Rous) in recognising our longstanding partnership, marking sixteen years of supporting sick and injured koalas in the Northern Rivers together. Since 2010, Rous has provided an ongoing source of food for sick and injured koalas through its plantation … Read more
National Volunteer Week 2026: Celebrating our Volunteers in the Northern Rivers
This Is Your Year to Volunteer We only just celebrated Global Volunteer Year and now it is time for National Volunteer Week here in Australia, and honestly, the more we celebrate these amazing humans the better because the volunteers are the backbone of Friends of the Koala. Every single day, 365 days a year, our … Read more
