Rescued koala rides the bus to safety
It was an ordinary bus ride – except for one furry passenger.
In Brisbane, Australia, a koala named Peri embarked on a once-in-a-lifetime trip Saturday before being released safely into the wild.
According to video footage released on social media by Koala Rescue Brisbane South, Peri was rescued from an outdoor light pole by a passing bus driver who was concerned the animal might fall onto a nearby road.
The driver then put the marsupial onto the bus before calling Koala Rescue Brisbane South, who collected him and then released Peri into the Seven Hills Bushland Reserve Monday after he was checked out by a wildlife hospital.
Koala Rescue Brisbane South warned against handling wild koalas in a social media post sharing Peri's rescue.
"We don’t recommend handling koalas unless you’re trained. They have incredibly dangerous claws, can bite – and gripping them around their ribs can cause serious damage," the post reads.
"If you find an injured koala, and it’s safe to contain it without touching it until help arrives, please do so; anywhere dark is good for wildlife. Usually we recommend a laundry basket covered with a towel, but if needs be, a bus will do!" the post added.
According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), koalas can be found in the eucalyptus forests on Australia’s eastern coast.
"They can eat up to 500 grams of leaves per day," the WWF's website reads. "But no matter how juicy the leaf, this limiting diet is so low in nutrients that koalas need to spend an incredible amount of time resting. In fact, they can spend up to 20 hours a day doing their most important activity for survival – sleeping."
Koalas were listed as endangered in Eastern Australia in 2022, per the WWF.
"Koalas now face an ever-growing number of threats – from deforestation for agricultural and urban developments to the spread of the deadly koala chlamydia disease, traffic strikes and dog attacks," according to the WWF.
According to the Australian Koala Foundation, 80% of koala habitats have disappeared due to land clearing and there are likely fewer than 60,000 koalas remaining in Australia today, perhaps even half that number.
