Visit to the Koala Hospital in Port Macquarie

Today we drove nearly 200 km along the coast to Port Macquarie in just two hours. This spot was a special request from Günter. We have moved into a new apartment here until tomorrow and then we visited the Koala Hospital in Porte Macquarie.

The koala is one of the iconic Australian animals, along with the kangaroo, wombat, and kookaburra. Unfortunately, it is now also on the list of endangered species! Before the white settlers claimed the land, there were several million koalas along the east coast, all the way down to the south!

Now, the population of these gentle, small, eucalyptus-eating marsupials is steadily decreasing and currently only amounts to about 45,000 - 80,000 individuals. And approximately 4,000 more koalas are estimated to be killed every year.

Many threats to koalas

1. With the many settlements, many trees have been cut down and the natural habitat of koalas has been further restricted. And since koalas are very territorial and mainly feed on a specific species of eucalyptus, it becomes difficult for them when their food trees suddenly become inaccessible due to insurmountable fences and dogs.

2. In addition, the traffic has also increased significantly, and koalas often become victims of traffic accidents when crossing roads.

3. Another major threat is the introduced dogs and cats, which often seriously injure or kill koalas and their young.

4. And last but not least, due to the increase and spread of bushfires, the cute little creatures often no longer manage to find safety and in the best case scenario, suffer treatable burns.

5. Last but not least, due to the many stress factors for koalas, their immune system has also suffered and they have become more susceptible to a sexually transmitted disease called chlamydia, which can render them blind and infertile.

Fortunately: 200 volunteers for koalas

And now, since 1973, around 200 diligent volunteers and a handful of permanent staff have made it their mission to treat injured koalas, help them recover, and then release them back into the wild.

And today we visited this exemplary project: the Koala Hospital in PM. Apart from us, there were about 30 other visitors from all over the world, especially from Germany. And together with the four of us, they listened to a free guided tour explaining the life and suffering of these little marsupials.

Well done, as always, with humor and information!

'German donate most'

The elderly lady who has been volunteering for the koalas for 16 years now said that she is particularly impressed by the Germans, who have donated the most so far and are leading the list of 'koala adoptive parents'!

Great job, dear countrymen, keep it up!!!

Tomorrow we will continue to Port Stephens, also in the name of the koala ;-)