Share
Tweet
Share
Share
Photo supplied by Emily Robinson.
Midwife Emily Robinson was working a typical shift at Kangaroo Island Health Service when her day was interrupted by the cutest of creatures. Last week, Emily was approached by another staff member and informed that a koala had just gotten through the main gate onto the hospital grounds.
“I was just about to leave the midwife office when a staff member from the kitchen told me that a koala had climbed over the gate,” says Emily. “I went out there and had a look, and there the koala was. As it was late in the afternoon, not many staff were around.”
The koala then casually strolled through the automatic doors and into the hospital, possibly looking for water, says Emily, who has worked there for the past 18 months. Emily then followed the fluffy visitor, as he ventured into aged care facility Anchusa, and took some videos and snaps. The adorable bundle of fur managed to enter and leave without much commotion, and staff were able to conceal his presence from patients.
Emily says it took around ten minutes for an on-call doctor and nurse to usher him back through the exit and safely back on home ground, holding up a blanket and using it as a pretend wall, to navigate him back through the fence.
The hospital, which sits on the esplanade in Kingscote, Kangaroo Island, is home to many eucalyptus trees and nearby parks, both big drawcards for native Australian wildlife. “There are many koalas in town that make their way into people’s backyards, and they’ve even been known to wander into establishments like the bottle shop and pub,” says Emily.
“We all felt very happy and excited to see a koala in our hospital. We are all very used to seeing them around,” says Emily.
