Updated
The number of koalas hospitalised at the RSPCA's
Brisbane headquarters has almost doubled in a year to a record 690, with
many hit by cars or attacked by dogs in a small area dubbed "the
triangle of death".
Key points:
- Nearly 100 koalas were hospitalised in the last year from a small urbanised area in Brisbane's inner south-east
- Those that live are released back into the same "danger zone", which is required under law
- The RSPCA expects that law to change in the coming months to allow them to be relocated in safer areas
The zone — from the eastern Brisbane suburb of Cannon Hill, south to Mount Gravatt and east to Carindale — is ground zero for the city's rapidly dwindling koala population.
The threatened species are cornered in islands of bushland surrounded by urban development and having frequent run ins with cars and dogs.
Ninety-six koalas, or 15 per cent, of hospital intakes came from the area in the year to July, up from 54 the year before.
And with trauma season now underway, as many as five a day can be killed or injured there.
What breaks the hearts of the rescuers the most is the repeat patients, who are rehabilitated and released back into the zone — as required by law — only to be critically injured again months later.
"We've already built the houses, we've already added the cars, so I'm not sure what we can do to stop the decline in population," the RSPCA's Sheila Collecott said.
Intakes about to double in trauma season
The trauma period coincides with mating season in July, when dominant males knock joeys off their mother's backs or drive young male competition out of their homes and into danger.A traffic controller called the hospital on one occasion to get help for a koala stuck on a ramp leading to a main road, only to see it pushed around by multiple cars, Ms Collecot said.
She said about 20 koalas were currently in RSPCA Wacol's care but that would double as trauma season ramped up.
"A rescuer can get here with a koala and we can be sending them out on another call in a matter of an hour to that same location," Ms Collecot said.
"It's not uncommon to have one break down in tears. They all touch our hearts."
| Financial Year | Hospitalisations | Hit by car | Dog attack | # from triangle of death |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 - 2017 | 366 | 119 | 54 | 36 |
| 2017 - 2018 | 377 | 112 | 48 | 53 |
| 2018 - 2019 | 690 | 153 | 53 | 96 |
Source: RSPCA Wacol
RSPCA chief executive Mark Townend was confident the State Government would change laws in the coming months that currently require koalas to be released within 5 kilometres from where they were found.
"It's up to the government, but ... I'm confident that will change for the better," he said.
"It's referred to regularly here as the triangle of death, but again, that's one pocket, there's thousands of koalas at risk."
Mr Townend also forecast changes to preserve prime south-east Queensland bush and possible funding for a new hospital facility, with $13 million needed.
Alongside his RSPCA responsibilities, Mr Townend is also the chair of the Koala Advisory Council, appointed by the Queensland Government to develop a conservation strategy.
The Council was set up in late 2018 after a report revealed 80 per cent of koalas in the Koala Coast had died (in Redlands, Logan and southern Brisbane) between 1996 and 2014.
| Worst streets | Hospitalised between July 2016 - June 2019 |
|---|---|
| Creek Rd, Carina Heights | 20 |
| Boundary Rd, Camp Hill | 13 |
| Logan Rd, Mt Gravatt/Upper Mr Gravatt | 11 |
| Klumpp Rd, Upper Mt Gravatt | 6 |
| Cavendish Rd | 5 |
Source: RSPCA Wacol
Sam Longman, a veteran koala carer of 10 years, has a sprawling 10-hectare property south of Brisbane, where she is currently caring for three koalas, including one hit by a car.
In the past month, she had lost four, including 18-month-old Sully who died days before the ABC spoke to her.
He passed on the operating table, suffering from a number of conditions.
He had been hand-reared from a baby.
"Heartbreaking, absolutely heartbreaking. It shattered me, it was horrible," she said.
"It was a roller coaster with him, he'd get better and plateau out, but then he'd plunge again.
"He was never quite right."
Ms Longman said to be a koala carer she needed to be able to bounce back from despair, as there were always more koalas needing her attention.
"It's probably more heartbreaking than enjoyable," she said.
"And there is quiet often that special one that you have and they're the ones that really hurt."
Police on beat picking up koalas
Constables Tobey Finegan and Heidi Bray rescued a 16-month-old boy in early June after they found him sitting in the middle of Logan Road in Holland Park, in the triangle of death.It is believed he was pushed out of his territory by the dominant male and was clipped by a car.
Showing no signs of injury, the officers only decided to take him in after he tried to climb a power pole, naming him Poh.
It turned out Poh was in a critical condition and needed emergency surgery to drain blood from his chest cavity.
RSPCA wildlife hospital manager Lee Pirini said koalas could sustain massive amounts of internal injuries but still manage to climb a tree with a rush of adrenaline.
"If they're on the ground they shouldn't be there. They can hide their injuries so easily," she said, urging people to call 1300ANIMAL.
Weeks after his rescue, the constables met the RSCPA nurse that performed the surgery as well as Ms Pirini to release Poh into Toohey Forest Park.
"It's a feel good story, it's a good result, it warms the heart," Constable Bray said.
Poh sprung from his cage to clamber up the eucalypt chosen for him by Ms Pirini — not too big and not too small, with a fork for him to nestle in.
Mid-way up the climb he turned down to his rescuers to say good-bye and take-in his new surroundings, just 2 kilometres from the Pacific Highway.
The moment of hope felt by Poh's rescuers was fleeting, Ms Pirini and Dr Kristin had three koalas waiting for them at hospital, needing their emergency care.
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