0:03
Queensland, Australia's wilderness is a world of contrast.
0:07
Lush rainforest, sunlit shores and wide open sky.
0:12
From the coral gardens of the Great Barrier Reef to the canopies of the Daintree Rainforest, QLD is a high with extraordinary creatures.
0:22
But even in paradise, nature sometimes needs a helping hand.
0:27
Koalas, Australia's beloved iconic marsupials, are known for their fluffy ears, large noses and tree dwelling lifestyle.
0:36
Tragically, koalas today are endangered in the coastal forests of eastern and southeastern Australia where they make their treetop homes.
0:45
But across Queensland, community groups and wildlife veterinarians have teamed up to rescue sick and injured koalas.
0:54
75 miles north of Brisbane in the town of Eumundi is a branch of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
1:03
They care for sick, injured or orphaned native birds, possums, echidnas, Kangaroos, reptiles, and of course, koalas.
1:14
So who do we have here today?
1:16
Two koalas are under care here.
1:18
First up is Reese, an adult koala with conjunctivitis, a painful eye infection.
1:23
Looking at his eyes, they're nice and clear.
1:26
So the treatment for his conjunctivitis is working quite well.
1:30
It's working.
1:31
The goal for Reese and every rescued koala is to return him back to the wild.
1:37
Next Reese's weighed and he goes a vital step toward his return home.
1:43
OK, Peter.
1:44
And he is 7.8 kilos we've dropped off, so I think his previous weight was 7.8 kilos.
1:50
So he's maintaining weight, which is really great for his release.
1:55
Good.
1:55
OK Yep.
1:56
I might leave that here.
1:57
Well, Peter helped with Reese.
1:59
I've had another male named Singlets.
2:02
There you go.
2:03
Yum.
2:05
He's underweight so he needs some supplemental nutrition.
2:08
Oh that was my best feed yet.
2:11
And singlets his weighed as well so he's 5.85 point 5 before so he's put on some weight that looks promising.
2:19
Koalas in Australia often live close to cities and towns.
2:23
They're at constant risk from vehicle strikes, dog attacks and habitat fragmentation.
2:30
At another RSPCA hospital southwest of Brisbane, I met an injured juvenile male named Logan.
2:37
He was found by himself and actually being attacked by a bird of prey.
2:41
So he was being attacked by an eagle really.
2:44
So he has a little puncture wound on his belly, and he had a little scrape above his eye, which is healed up nicely.
2:51
Before moving on to the next step in rehab, Logan must adjust the life beyond the cage.
2:56
So we let him soak up some sunlight.
2:58
You go, it's pretty soon you'll be doing this alone in the wild.
3:04
There he goes.
3:06
They've been individually cared for, been alone for months at a time.
3:09
How do you socialize them with other koalas?
3:11
They're not a social species.
3:14
When they get bigger, they're very, very territorial.
3:17
So will they have to go and establish their own territory?
3:20
Then they will.
3:21
He will be rehomed in his natural environment where he was rescued, and he will need to go out and find his own area.
3:34
Just up the road awaits Logan's eventual next stop, the Mogul Koala Rehab Center led by Doctor Stephanie Shaw.
3:42
OK, what do we have here?
3:45
So this is one of our pre release plantation pens.
3:48
They're really vital part of our rehabilitation process.
3:53
Wild koalas depend on trees over 50 feet high for food and safety.
3:58
Rehab pens like this are training grounds for young climbers.
4:02
They'll come here, we'll observe them every day, make sure they're moving, make sure that their body processes are functioning, and then usually about four to 8 weeks later, we'll grab them and release them.
4:13
Oh wow.
4:15
Chlamydia, A bacterial disease causing blindness and infertility, is severely impacting QLD's Koalas.
4:22
Barnaby, A5 year old male, arrived two weeks ago showing clear signs.
4:28
He's been on antibiotics ever since.
4:30
Today he's been given a sedative so Doctor Stephanie can check his progress and his eyes look a whole lot better than when he came in.
4:38
We know that koalas are facing chlamydia outbreak in Queensland, but how serious is this issue?
4:44
We kind of say there's three main reasons why that koalas are declining.
4:49
Obvious one is habitat loss means and also has a housing crisis as many places do, which means cutting down trees.
4:56
And so the koalas are forced into a smaller area, which means they meet each other more, which means they spread the disease faster.
5:04
It also means they go into people's backyards to use their beautiful tree and those people don't keep the dogs in at night.
5:10
It also means that sometimes it's fragmented because you have a road, so they'll have to cross the road and then get to their habitat.
5:16
So it all sort of compounds into this crisis of human caused issues for them.
5:24
So chlamydia is a big deal, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and that's we now have a vaccine.
5:30
We've been testing that vaccine for years, and it's seeming like it's going to work.
5:34
After getting his own dose of the new vaccine, Barnaby's exam is complete.
5:39
In the best world, he'll be gone in two weeks, released back into the wild in two weeks.
5:43
In two weeks, Yes.
5:45
Amazing.
5:46
Yeah.
