If your home burned down where would you go?

Due to the bushfires across the region, there are now 29 displaced and injured koalas in care at the Friends of the Koala (FoK) centre in Lismore.

“Every room in the care centre and all the runs are full,” FoK president Ros Irwin told the Lismore App.

“We are on call and expect to unfortunately receive more sick and injured koalas from the fires in the coming days and weeks ahead.

“We desperately need money to build temporary pens for them."

Donations needed

“We need thousands of dollars to do this and we are asking the community for help to raise $50,000.

“The funds will go straight to their care and it’s going to take a long time for them to recover.” 

Out of 12 fire affected koalas brought in from the fires, only two, a mum and joey called Flame and Spirit could be released back out into the wild. 

“It really pains our heart,” Ros said. “We’ve done our best for them and will continue to do our best.”

Dire straits

Ros said that now, more than ever, Friends of the Koala needs your urgent help. 

“Our Northern Rivers Koalas have been in dire straits for months," she said.

“Our population has been severely affected by deforestation, disease, drought and now horrific fires that are so extensive, we fear hundreds of koalas may have been lost. 

“For the past couple of months, we’ve had so little rain in Lismore - 18mm in three months.

“All the koala leaf has no moisture and the koalas being brought in are showing signs they are dehydrated."

Bungawalbin 

If all goes according to plan, Ros will be going out to the recently bushfire-burned area of Bungawalbin with helpers tomorrow – looking for koalas. 

“We have a small team of helpers who have been given fire awareness training by NSW Foresty and we’ll be looking at places we think koalas might be still alive,” Ros said.

They also hope to be taking Bear – a dog who has been trained to sniff out koalas, just like a scat dog might find animal scats.

They will be putting out blinky drinkers – water drinking stations for animals that are raised off the ground, making it safer for animals to escape being preyed upon.

“We might even be able to set up cameras on the drinking stations so we can see if they are being used and what condition the animals are in," she said.

Ros said before the fires, things weren’t good for our koalas, and then when the fires came “we were unprepared for it”.

“Forestry has been so helpful and funded the fire awareness training for ten of our people and we are so grateful,” she said.

“We will be prepared next time.”

Extinct?

Until recent bushfires, Port Macquarie had one of the healthiest koala populations in the State and now, the species'status is deemed "vulnerable".

In Port Macquarie, Lake Innes Nature Reserve, which was home to a colony of as many as 600 koalas, lost much of its habitat last week.

James Tremain, a spokesman for the NSW Nature Conservation Council said "If we continue at this rate, koalas will be extinct by 2050."

Donate

FoK rescues more koalas than any other rescue organisation in NSW, yet receives no ongoing government funding.

At this critical time FoK needs your help.

$20 supplies food for a sick koala for a week.

“Just $5 from everyone of you would get us over the line,” Ros said.

“It’s just the cost of your cup of coffee tomorrow morning, but one that will help save a life.”

Please donate now: https://friends-of-the-koala.giveeasy.org/urgent-help-required?fbclid=IwAR0Ze4DKdT_pL9a005VfRdZmsIyqm1YQN83SZXk80rU-sBbWWyXZeaL_Mt4