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 experienced devastating flooding and loss of many animal lives. Our hearts go out to everybody who is affected, directly or indirectly.

Thankfully, our Koala Hospital has not been damaged, however nine of our koala food plantations had been severely affected by Cyclone Aflred not long ago, jeapordising our koalas food supply. We are asking the community to assist us in sourcing Forest Redgum and Tallow trees for our koalas in care at the Koala Hospital and Rehabilitation Center. If you can help, please contact: Fiona Dawson Leafing Coordinator – Friends of the Koala [email protected]. Thank you as always for your support.

Onwards to our koala update this month and we have a very special new admission – he is just the cutest!!

But first our releases – we are delighted to report that since our last update here, Cielo, Yuno, Gideon, Watson, Huckleberry, Troppo, Droplet and Honeydew have all gone home – what a happy clear out!!

Home Care

Quatro

Little Quatro, a male joey of approximately five months old and weighing just 244g, came into our Koala Hospital on the first of May 2025. His mum Suzie was severely injured when the tree she was in, fell onto the road. Suzie sustained several fractures to her arm and hand that sadly could not be treated, the kindest thing was to put her to sleep. Suzie’s little joey Quatro was in her pouch when the tree fell so he is very lucky to have only sustained minor injuries. He has some grazes on his arms, legs and chest but is doing well in home care with Liz, who has been providing him with warmth and around-the-clock feeding. Quatro is enjoying his milk and has very recently started eating leaf too. He is growing well and has a lot more fur since he first arrived! Aw what a cutie and so very sad about his mum Suzie RIP.

Koala Kindy

Fudge

Fudge is now fourteen months old!! Her candida infection has resolved and she has started to gain weight and is thriving in kindy! Fudge is getting close to being big enough for soft release!! Exciting times for our little Fudge!

Higgins

Higgins who is now eleven months old is also thriving in kindy and has been weaned off her milk. She is officially a big girl eating only leaf and continues to gain weight. What a great outcome for this little orphaned joey whose mum Missy sadly passed away following a severe allergic reaction to multiple bee stings. It’s all thanks to our amazing vet team and volunteers who do such incredible work.

Care Centre

Husk

Four year old Husk has had a bumpy ride following the injury to his leg. The infection from what appears to be a dog bite has flared up again and has spread to one of his toes. Husk has restarted antibiotics and receives regular cleaning to the area. He is a total trooper though and is managing to move around a lot and has started to use his injured leg again.

Reef

Nine year old Reef continues to recover from his injuries but his weight and body condition are steadily improving. He has been upgraded to a larger enclosure which will help him regain some muscle aiding his recovery. Reef clearly thinks this is a great idea and loves his enclosure upgrade! We have begun weaning him off his supplements and will monitor his weight closely to ensure he can maintain it without supplements! Best of luck Reef in the next step of your rehab journey.

Fumie

Whilst five year old Fumie has improved greatly since her admission and can walk and climb using her injured leg, her progress to soft release has been delayed as we have discovered some fungal lesions on her rump and feet. Fumie has begun treatment and the lesions are already improving – fingers crossed she can get the all clear soon!

Wellington

Whilst Wellington’s eyes have improved immensely they still look mildly inflamed and his bladder still looks thickened in an ultrasound. This indicates that he most likely still has chlamydia and requires more antibiotics.

Whiskey

Six year old Whiskey was admitted in mid May when a member of the public spotted him in a tree with crusty looking eyes. Whiskey has severe conjunctivitis in both eyes and mild cystitis and has begun treatment. Thanks to this member of the public Whiskey will hopefully have a full recovery and be released home!

If you enjoyed reading our latest update, perhaps you might like to sign up to our monthly newsletters to learn more about our work. Become a member here.

If you have read this and are inspired to volunteer with us – we urgently need leafers (and more) – please visit our volunteer page.

This end of financial year, we are asking you to help support our much-needed hospital expansion so that we can save more koalas. There are so many ways you can help us:

• Become more than a donor – be a Friend!
• Donate any amount – fund a fixture or a fan!
• Adopt a koala
• Adopt a tree

Last but not least – next month is the start of koala breeding season, do you know how to spot a sick or injured koala? Please check out our koalas and cars page and if you do see a koala that looks like it needs our help, please call our emergency hotline immediately: 02 6622 1233.