A man’s morning trip to the park with his two kids has taken an “exciting” turn after they spotted two koalas, highlighting just how special it is to see native wildlife right in our own backyards.
Ronald Pors said he’s lived in the Gold Coast suburb of Helensvale for three years, but this was the first time he’d seen the endangered marsupials during the day. “We were at the skatepark before the school drop-off and the kids saw the koala jump out of a tree at the school oval. He definitely knew the route to where he wanted to go,” he told Yahoo News.
Footage taken by Ronald shows one of the koalas walking along a pathway through the park. But as he was filming a second clip, he began to worry about its safety.
The koala continued along its path by crossing busy Discovery Drive to reach a golf course, and he posted a message on social media warning locals to “be careful”. The two-lane road cuts through historical koala habitat, and with few trees left and no overpass, the only way for the marsupials to cross is through traffic.
Why a professional rescuer is concerned for koalas
Amy Wregg, a professional koala rescuer who works with WIRES and WildCare, told Yahoo News there’s a “high number” of vehicle strikes involving koalas on Discovery Drive. “We had one killed there last week in that exact same spot,” she said.
She has seen an increase in koalas that have been displaced after losing their habitat. Residents cutting down feed trees to lower the risk of falling branches onto their property has been one contributor, but a much bigger problem has been the bulldozing of habitat to make way for the controversial Coomera Connector, a major highway that will cut travel time to Brisbane.
“We had a lot of good tree growth last year, so it was a good breeding season. Now the sub-adults are being dispersed and looking for new habitat, but we’ve knocked it all down,” she said.
Excitement turned to concern as the koala began crossing busy Discovery Drive. Source: Roland Pors
Dad hopes kids will grow to ‘love’ wildlife
Ronald later spotted a second koala staring down at him from high in a tree. Compared to the rest of the bustling Gold Coast, he finds Helensvale relatively quiet, but he does worry about the safety of wildlife in the area.
“An accident can happen anywhere, so people need to be made aware constantly of how special this actually is [to have koalas] in our backyard,” he said.
“[I] hope to raise my kids with the same love for wildlife as I have.”
Love Australia’s weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week’s best stories.
