KOALAS IN THE WIDE BAY BURNETT

Wildcare Australia &

Wildlife Rescue Fraser Coast

Joint Presentation

• Our organisations

• Overview of Rehabilitation Causes and Issues

• Statistics on Koala Rescues in Wide Bay Burnett / BMRG Region

• Locality case study.

What is Wildcare? A group of people who care

• Established in 1992

• Operate a 24 hour/7 day emergency telephone service to facilitate the prompt rescue of wildlife

• Train volunteers in all aspects of the rescue and rehabilitation of wildlife

• Promote the protection of natural habitat

• Educate the general community in all aspects of wildlife and their needs

• Operates predominantly Gympie south to Border & out to Toowoomba.

Wildlife Rescue Fraser Coast

• Alliance of privately permitted rehabilitators and those permitted under ANARRA.

• Operate a 24 hour/7 day emergency telephone service to facilitate the prompt rescue of wildlife

• Promote the protection of natural habitat

• Educate the general community in all aspects of wildlife and their needs

• Operates predominantly in Fraser Coast region.

Rehabilitation Volunteers

• Must hold a “Specialise Koala Rehabilitation Permit”

• Must complete regular training

• Generally care for wildlife in “home-based” facilities

• Work closely with our partners:

– Queensland Environment & Heritage Protection

– Currumbin Wildlife Hospital

– Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital

– RSPCA Queensland

– Local veterinary surgeries

Aim - To rescue,

rehabilitate and

release back to the wild

Koala Rehabilitation

Causes and Issues

Why do our koalas need us?

• Road trauma

• Domestic animal attacks

• Disease

• Entanglement

• Orphaned

• Tree falls

• Injury from habitat destruction/loss

• Injury from misadventures

• ….

All require rescue and immediate veterinary assessment and treatment.

Does it need to be rescued?

We need to be able to:

• understand koala ‘normal behaviour’ and body language;

• identify koala habitat and know where koalas live;

• identify a male from a female;

• identify independent young from dependent;

• identify common diseases;

• identify injured koalas;

• recognise pain in koalas;

• assess scats; and

• be able to ask for help when needed.

Rescue Call …Lots of questions asked

Essential that we obtain an accurate history of the animal to determine whether it is sick or injured and whether it needs to come into care.

• When was the koala first sighted?

• Has it been on the ground for a period of time? For how long?

• Does it appear sick? Eyes, bottom etc.

• Is it eating?

• Is it exhibiting unusual behaviour?

• Was any commotion heard from dogs.

Normal Behaviour NORMAL NOT SO NORMAL

Sitting in a tree Sitting on the ground

Responsive to stimuli (noise, presence of

rescuer)

Non-responsive to stimuli

Moving on the ground for short periods Moving on the ground for extended periods –

sitting and staying inactive or bumping into

things

On the move through the day (particularly in

breeding season and in cooler weather)

On the move through the day (particularly in

very hot weather)

Resting in non-food trees Reported in non-food tree for more than 24

hours

Attempting to climb security screen doors

• Generally koalas are gentle and placid animals UNTIL they feel threatened (i.e. being handled).

• Become disorientated easily – particularly when people are standing around the animal and trying to coax it in a particular direction

Assessment

Demeanour – Healthy

• Bright, alert and responsive to disturbance

• Ears should become erect when disturbed

Assessment

Demeanour – Unhealthy

• Unresponsive

• Able to approach closely

Assessment Position – Healthy

• Healthy koalas should be up a tree during the day.

• If on the ground, they should move away when approached.

Assessment Position – Unhealthy

• Sleeping on the ground

• Sitting at the base of a tree for a period of time

• Does not move away when approached

Photo: www.abc.net.au

Photo: camertim.com

Assessment Gait/Mobility – Healthy

• Have a slight ‘rolling’ gait

• Look a little weird walking!

Gait/Mobility – Unhealthy

• Limping

• Falling to one side

• Circling

Assessment Body Condition - Healthy

• should be well nourished and slightly pot-bellied

• pelvic bones and spine should not be discernible

• body condition can hard to assess distantly

Assessment

Body Condition – Unhealthy

• hollowness between the ribcage and pelvis

• pelvic bones and spine easily discernible

Assessment Body Scoring

• Palpate the suprascapularis and infrascapularis muscles at the midpoint of the scapular spine.

• 1 or 2 = emaciated

• 3 or 4 = poor

• 5 or 6 = fair

• 7 or 8 = good

• 9 or 10 = excellent

Assessment

Coat – Healthy

• Should be dense, grey and uniform

Assessment Coat – Healthy

• Females with large back young may have brown, patchy fur where the joey has been gripping on

Assessment

Coat – Unhealthy

• Brown, sparse, coarse or tufted in appearance

• Hair loss

• Scaly, encrusted skin

• Any signs of wet fur which might indicate saliva from a dog

Assessment Eyes – Healthy

• Should be clear, bright and free of discharge

• Should have no fur loss around the eyes

Assessment Eyes – Unhealthy

• Crust formed over eyes

• Inflammation around the eye

• Pus forming in the eye

Assessment

Vent and Rump – Healthy

• Bottom should be clean, white, dry and free of dirt or dark brown stains

Assessment

Vent and Rump – Unhealthy

• Wet bottom

• Dark stained bottom (brown colour)

Injuries/Conditions Road Trauma • Fractures • Head trauma /

neurological damage

• Internal bleeding • Paralysis • Orphaned young

Injuries/Conditions Dog Attack • Fractures • Lacerations • Bruising • Internal

bleeding • Infection

Any koala with evidence of saliva MUST

receive IMMEDIATE VETERINARY ATTENTION!!

No exceptions.

Injuries/Conditions Chlamydia Several forms:- • Conjunctivitis • Uro-genital • Reproductive

Chlamydia – Conjunctivitis Form

Photo: AZWH

Chlamydia – Cystitis

Diagnosed by:- • Clearview Test • Gross observation

Treated with:- • Chloramphenicol injections for 45 days

Note protrusion of penis in male koala. This is often a sign of trauma to the lower body region (ie pelvic injury)

Chlamydia – Cystitis Gross necropsy of koala with advanced cystitis. Note the thickened bladder wall and haemorraging.

Photos: AZWH

Chlamydia - Reproductive Tract Disease Bursal cyst that was obvious on clinical assessment.

Photo: AZWH

Purulent discharge from cloaca – infection in lower reproductive tract

Chlamydia - Reproductive Tract Disease

Reproductive cysts and markedly thickened bladder wall

Bursal Cysts

Photo: AZWH

Immunosuppression / Koala Retrovirus (KoRV)Aids • Poor condition • Lethargic • Ulcers in and around

mouth • Dermatitis • Pot belly

Cancers/Retrovirus •Osteochondrona (Slow growing cancer of mixed cartilage and bone)

• Leukaemia • Lymphoma

Orphan Care

• Raising orphaned koala joeys is an intensive job

• Lots of veterinary intervention required

• Lots of leaf cutting, washing, cleaning ….

Koala crossing road

• Human safety above all – ensure people stay off the road

• If safe, slow traffic and allow koala to move in the direction that it wants to

• Stay well clear of the koala – they become disorientated easily

Photo: www.simoneverisphotography.com

Common Concerns

Mother trying to save baby

• Reported as ‘baby’ on outer limb hanging for dear life and larger koala trying to ‘save it’

• 99% - male trying to ‘court’ a female!

• Generally unable to rescue female as risk of her falling is great

• If one falls, cover with a blanket or laundry basket and call for help

Koala knocking on door

• Ensure all dogs secured and out of sight

• Turn all lights off

• Leave the koala to move on of its own accord

• Should have moved on within an hour – if not, should be assessed by experienced koala rescuer to ensure okay.

Lost koala

• Reported in area ‘where koalas shouldn’t live’

• If appears healthy, leave to move on of its own accord

• Contact experienced koala rescuer who knows the local area for advice

Problems with Translocating

Source: Koala Rehabilitation Manual Koala Hospital Port Macquarie

Misadventure

• Entanglement

• Entrapment

• Swimming Pools

Dispersing Young

• Koalas become independent at 12-18 months

• Juveniles will then disperse from mother’s home range

• Sexually mature at around 2 years of age

• Will often still be close to mum so important that they are not ‘kidnapped’ from their mother

• Many reports of ‘orphaned’ koalas are actually dispersing young

• As a rule – smaller than a football should be considered too young to be away from mum

Back Young

11-12 inches in height (sitting)

Sub Adult

Adult / Mature

Basic Koala Rescue Techniques

• Koalas must be handled gently and confidently

• They are extremely strong and have the ability to inflict serious injury

• The flagging technique carries a degree of risk to the koala

• Much easier to rescue if on the ground – do not encourage to go up a tree

• Do not rescue if not necessary as koalas suffer from stress easily

Basic Koala Equipment

• Large top opening wire cage

• Blankets and towels

• Cage cover

• Heat source (hot water bottle, instant heat packs)

• Flagging poles

• Plastic bags and bright-coloured cloths for end of flagging poles

• Koala trap

• Binoculars

Flagging

• Concept is based on the pretense that if a koala perceives that the threat above it is greater than the one below it, then it will retreat down the tree.

• Aim - To get them down within reach quickly so that they don’t have time to think about what is happening!

• If risk of fall to koala is high, we use alternative methods

Trapping

Use of a humane trap made from aluminum and Perspex with a corflute ‘fence’ constructed around tree.

Trapping

Koalas in the Wide

Bay Burnett

Koala Admission Records • Sourced all admissions through Australia Zoo Wildlife

Hospital from 2004-2016 (Full EHP records not forthcoming). Closest official Koala Treatment Facility to BMRG area

• Biased – By virtue of wildlife hospital - only include Koalas where humans have intervened or acted

• Full longitudinal tracking needed for the ‘full’ story in the wild

• Data issues – change in database during timeframe and not 100% accurate suburb name entries

662 Koala’s admitted to AZWH (some multiple visits) between 2004-2016 from BMRG region.

Number extremely conservative of BMRG Region rescues:

• Likely many more ‘admitted’ elsewhere for more urgent care – eg obvious euthanasia’s or more local care.

• Many DOA cases would be unreported.

• Issue with Chloraphenicol access in 2014 for 9 months – many Koalas never caught or sent.

Admissions by Council Area (within BMRG Catchments)

Primary Admission Cause – mostly consistent %’s with SEQ Region

Initial Outcome (Longer term outcome info unavailable)

Hot Spot Localities….top 14 Note – some issues with suburb descriptions in databases

Tinana locality…..Spike and Crash 2012-14

Tinana Locality Admission Causes

Primary Admission Cause BMRG area – mostly consistent %’s with SEQ Region

Tinana Locality Admission Causes

Threshold habitat stress?? Coloured Parcels – SLATS clearing 1988-2014 Bounded Population with ongoing incremental clearing

Tinana

How to Help Koalas

• Protect and retain existing koala habitat

• Plant koala food trees – helps all wildlife

• Restrain dogs – particularly at night

• Always report dog attacks

• Provide exit routes from pools

• Report diseased koalas early

Until help arrives…

Sick and injured koalas:-

• Human safety above all else

• Keep the koala on the ground with a laundry basket or by placing hand on top of head from behind – do not encourage up a tree!

• Keep dogs away out of sight

• Do not pick up – wait for an experienced koala rescuer to arrive

Who to call….. Bundaberg & North Burnett – Bundaberg Wildlife Rescue Ph 4159 6431

Fraser Coast – Wildlife Rescue Fraser Coast – Ph 4121 3146 24/7

Gympie & South Burnett – ANNARA – Ph 5484 9111 or 5484 9220

Noosa / Upper Mary – AZWH Ph 5436 2340 & Wildcare Australia Ph 5527 2444

.

Main Photo Credits:

Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital

Currumbin Wildlife Hospital

Dr Jon Hanger

Karen Scott