Funny but True

Koalas have no road sense and don’t usually recognise a dog as an enemy until after it attacks. They just want to climb trees, eat, sleep and reproduce, but unfortunately manage to get themselves into all sorts of weird predicaments:

Wet and wild: I know of one thirsty koala who fought a doberman for water rights. What is unusual is that this time the koala won. The dog ended up whimpering and very sore, huddled in his kennel, while the koala drank his fill from the dog’s bowl.

Schoolyard antics: Then there was the young male koala determined to go to school. He tried to enter Camira State School but didn’t go through the gate like most students, didn’t climb over the fence like some naughty students, but tried going through the fence. He got his head well and truly stuck in the fence – twice in the same week!

No ticket to ride: Another koala got on a train at Rosewood station without purchasing a ticket (wasn't taking a seat, so probably felt he didn’t need one). He was ‘apprehended’ and ‘forcibly removed’ from the train at Walloon station – for fare evasion.  Where to return him caused a bit of a dilemma!

Security breach: And one koala ended up in the security office on the Amberley RAAF base. This is a bit of a worry because it not only breached security but had our trained, fearless defense force personnel terrified (they actually locked me in with him until I had him safely in custody).

Every koala rescuer has similar stories – the ‘if it wasn’t so sad, it would be funny’ type.  We’ve all witnessed the confusion experienced by our simple-minded koalas when ‘civilization’ is imposed on them;   when  ‘progress’ reaches their small part of the world;   when their small world disappears, almost literally, overnight.

- Helen Darbellay