Grim truth behind seemingly innocent sight on rural road: 'Didn't realise'
A seemingly innocent video of a koala drinking rainwater on the side of a rural road has prompted an urgent warning from wildlife rescuers. The iconic animal was recently spotted by a driver hovering over the ground and using its tongue to lick moisture off the bitumen in South Australia after parts of the state saw rain for the first time since December.
'I think it was assumed she was initially hit by a car,' Mish, a carer with Southern Koala and Echidna Rescue Ltd, told Yahoo News Australia. Tragically, the koala's condition was even worse than the motorist who called for help feared.
'She was just a really, really sick koala unfortunately,' Mish said, explaining that the animal's thirst was actually an indicator of poor health — and she wasn't the only one suffering. 'We got three reports of koalas drinking [on the road] and they all had various health conditions, and they're not in a good way.'
The wildlife rescuer told Yahoo more drivers likely saw others searching for moisture after the rainfall, but probably thought the behaviour was normal.
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A post shared by Southern Koala & Echidna Rescue (@southernkoalaechidnarescue)
Healthy koalas are able to absorb all the moisture they need from gum tree leaves, but 'the ones that are coming down to the ground and seeking out water all seem to have some pretty bad health issues', she added.
'We've had people that were trying to shoo them off the road because they were drinking during the rain. They were more concerned about the koala getting hit and didn't realise the drinking itself is an issue. The koalas just go straight back onto the road because they're so desperate.'
Without intervention, the animals become too weak and ultimately starve to death or succumb to their illnesses.
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Poor fur condition
Allowing a predator (human or dog) to approach
Sleeping or sitting hunched on the ground
A koala on the ground drinking
Cloudy eyes
A koala smaller than the size of a football
The female koala seen in the footage was revealed to have a host of issues, including reproductive disease and 'bad kidneys'. Sadly, she had to be euthanised, Mish said.
One of the others still in their care — a thirsty male who was also seen on a road — had injuries to his back leg and jaw after being struck by a car.
'If it wasn't for the fact that he was on the road drinking and someone rang us, he would have probably still continued in the wild...but he would have continued to just go downhill as he got weaker and weaker from not eating as much as he needs to,' Mish told Yahoo, adding 'one simple phone call' to a local wildlife rescuer is 'all it takes' to stop their pain.
'If people aren't sure, we'd rather they just call anytime they see a koala drinking — worst case scenario, they come in for a vet check, and if they seem otherwise healthy, then they'll get a boost of vitamins and fluids and [we'll] get them back out there.
'It's heartbreaking to see so many that are just left to suffer.'
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