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Koalas, Australia's beloved iconic marsupials, are known for their fluffy ears, large noses and tree dwelling lifestyle.
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Tragically, koalas today are endangered in the coastal forest where they make their treetop homes.
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But across Queens and Australia, community groups and wildlife veterinarians have teamed up to rescue sick and injured koalas.
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A baby koala is called a Joey.
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When a member of the public finds an orphan Joey, the first call is to a place like Pine Rivers Koala Care Association in Strathpine.
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Hello.
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You must be Cash.
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Hi, Petey.
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It's very nice to meet you.
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Nice to meet you too.
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Welcome to Strathpine.
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Everyone at Pine Rivers is a volunteer that's passionate about rescuing koalas.
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Joanne Bain has been a volunteer here for 33 years.
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So I understand you've been caring for cause for a very long time.
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Yes, yes, quite a quite a while.
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And it's time for her to feed an orphan Joey named Rusty.
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The first time he's actually been outside and he's waiting for his milk.
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Aren't you?
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Are you going to cooperate today?
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There he goes.
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What?
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What are you feeding it now?
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It's a special formula.
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Does it help when you sort of support his head like that?
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Yeah, well, it's just that he's probably wanting to look around a bit.
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You know, they’re in the pouch when they're feeding, so it's dark.
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Koalas are marsupials, part of a group of animals that include Kangaroos, wombats and possums.
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Marsupials are born prematurely and complete their development inside a special pouch on their mother's abdomen.
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Rusty would have been drinking milk in the darkness of his mother's pouch if he had not been orphaned.
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Yeah, he was in the hospital because his mum was very sick and she hadn't been feeding him.
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This one's little chicken.
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Oh, look at that.
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Oh, how old, anyway?
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Four to five.
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Yeah, months.
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She was a trauma and had a fall, so she was on a lot of medication.
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Surprisingly made it through.
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We didn't think she was going to.
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She was definitely a fighter.
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She's still on milk and will be for quite a while.
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Can you tell us about that?
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Before they can eat leaf, they've got to get the gut flora.
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The gut flora, The gut flora.
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They get that from Mum.
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Where does that come from?
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From Mum.
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Well, it's mashed up droppings.
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Mum feeds it to him and then they can start eating the leaf.
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Koalas feed almost exclusively on the toxic leaves of eucalyptus trees, also known as gum trees.
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Koalas are able to eat eucalyptus thanks to their unique digestive system.
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As Wild Kingdom, first profiled over 50 years ago, these forests provide an excellent habitat for an abundance of wild creatures.
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The koala, however, is the only one who spends his entire life there, since the only food he ever eats is the foliage of gum trees.
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After Rusty, a little chick in her hand, raised on milk and eucalyptus, conditioned and outdoor enclosures to develop natural behaviors and then health checked, they'll be released back to the wild lands around Queensland in about 12 to 18 months.
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You raise them from the time they're tiny and then you have to let them go, yes.
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What is that like?
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It's good.
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It is a bit sad sometimes, you know, but a lot of the time it's good to see them go.
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You've given them a second chance.
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That's the whole reason we do it.
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We do it because we want to conserve the koalas for future generations to enjoy.
