Wildlife carer Elizabeth George helps Madden into his new home.By Melissa Donchi
HE WAS hit on Maddens Lane and left to die but this little koala wasn’t going to give up that easily.
After months of intensive rehabilitation ‘Madden’ is on the mend and back in the wild where he belongs.
Wildlife workers were worried that his shattered pelvis may not have fully mended but their fears were put to rest when Madden scampered straight to the top of a towering gum tree between mouthfuls of leaves.
His carer for the past four and a half months, Elizabeth George, attributed Madden’s success to the joint efforts of the Australian Wildlife Health Centre (AWHC), Peter Coonan from Healesville Sanctuary and Peter Revell from Parks Victoria.
“Looking after a wild koala isn’t as easy as it sounds,” Ms George said.
“They have very sharp claws and have the potential to rip you apart.”
Ms George said Madden required at least a kilogram of leaves per day which Mr Coonan from Healesville Sanctuary took upon himself to find.
“Koalas are very picky eaters and only eat certain kinds of leaves so Peter’s job of finding a kilo of the right type of leaves every day was particularly difficult,” Ms George said.
Finding the right location to release Madden was also a challenge with the recovery team scouting a number of nature reserves.
“We chose a nature reserve where there wasn’t many people around so he wouldn’t be bothered,” Mr Revell said.
“It was important that he be released into a quiet area where he’d have time to recover.”
Madden has been fitted out with a special microchip so his progress can be monitored but Ms George is positive that he will be okay.
“He’s recovered from the accident really well and easily has another four or five years left in him,” Ms George said.
“He is a real success story.”
