He has been hit by a train, had 900,000 tonnes of coal pass over the top of him and had his ear gnawed by something believed to be a fox, but this koala has turned out to be a true Aussie battler.
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The koala was hit by a train about three months ago near Breeza, rescued by a train driver and brought to the care of Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service (WIRES) carer Martine Moran.
The koala was dehydrated, starving, and had a broken leg, cheekbone and eye socket.
This morning, the koala looked a picture of health, apart from a permanently lopsided head and gait.
Mrs Moran said the koala had suffered an incredible ordeal, believed to have been hit by a train and stuck on the track for 48 hours where he managed to escape further injury despite an estimated 900,000 tonnes of coal travelling above him.
He does have ear damage Mrs Moran said is likely to be the result of an animal attack while he lay on the tracks.
“I can’t understand how he didn’t get eaten,” Mrs Moran said.
The koala was rescued by a train driver who had been aware there was a koala on the track and kept an eye out for him.
He was treated at Tamworth Veterinary Hospital and has been recovering at Mrs Moran’s Gunnedah home.
Mrs Moran said the koala was the first koala she had seen that had survived being hit by a train.
She said he was now in good health but was missing teeth and would have to learn to climb again.
Injured wildlife in the Gunnedah area are either taken to WIRES carers or to Waterways Wildlife Park where they are nursed to health and released when possible.
Mrs Moran said she cared for about 10 koalas a year that were brought in suffering from chlaymdia, dog attacks and car accidents.
She said incidents of animals being hit by trains had increased in the past few years, but the accidents were unavoidable.
A recent report for Gunnedah’s second rail overpass noted there were up to 1200m-long trains passing through
Gunnedah every 23 minutes.
Mrs Moran said it was important to contact WIRES on 1300 131 554 if the animal was still alive.
“Not everybody stops for animals that have been hit,” she said.
“A lot of people think they are dead when they are not.
“Many of them can recover.”
She said a koala that had been hit by a car at Curlewis had been healthy enough to be released back into the wild just a week later.
Mrs Moran said the koala that was hit by a train would go to a carer with better facilities for a koala so he could learn to climb again.
