{"id":225440,"date":"2025-10-19T21:43:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T21:43:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/225440\/"},"modified":"2025-10-19T21:43:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T21:43:08","slug":"detail-in-photo-forces-aussie-woman-to-abandon-coffee-and-run-towards-road","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/225440\/","title":{"rendered":"Detail in photo forces Aussie woman to abandon coffee and run towards road"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sitting down for a cappuccino at a cafe on the weekend, an Australian woman was ready to relax after a busy week and take a few photos of the surrounding bushland. Instead of her regular breakfast burger, Sharyn Bartlem thought she\u2019d order the shakshuka, a Middle Eastern dish of spicy tomato and eggs.<\/p>\n

But that wasn\u2019t the only thing that was a little different last Saturday. Looking through the lens of her camera, she saw a butcherbird<\/a> drinking from a fountain. Then she noticed something was hiding in a nearby gum tree, staring back at her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt a shadow out of the corner of my eye. I still had my camera lens up as I turned around,\u201d Sharyn told Yahoo News.<\/p>\n

\u201cI literally thought I must have been imagining it, because I saw a koala<\/a> coming down the tree.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why a koala was so worrying to see<\/p>\n

What shocked Sharyn is that the koala was in a tree at the edge of a busy roundabout, in Whites Hill Reserve near Brisbane.<\/a><\/p>\n

She\u2019s an advocate for the protection of wildlife in the area, through the group Save the Koalas and Wallabies of Whites Hill. At least 113 koalas were killed within 6km of Whites Hill in 2024, despite the species being listed as endangered in Queensland<\/a> so it would receive better protection.<\/p>\n

\"Left:<\/p>\n

Sharyn had just snapped a picture of a butcherbird when she spotted the koala. Source: Supplied<\/p>\n

\"Far<\/p>\n

This photograph shows how close the koala was from cars. Source: Supplied<\/p>\n

So when she spotted the koala, her instinct was to snap a photo and run. \u201cThere were cars coming. It looked like he was perched there, wondering what to do next,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t think he was going to run straight out. But the cars were only one metre away, and no one seemed to see him, they were just racing by.\u201d<\/p>\n

The situation was a reminder of how easily koalas in the environment can be missed by motorists. Because even as a koala advocate, Sharyn originally had no idea there was one sitting so close to her.<\/p>\n

\u201cKoalas will jump a metre onto the ground. And this means every time you drive past a tree that\u2019s a metre away from the road, there could be a koala on the back of it ready to jump out,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a difficult message to say, drive like a koala is there, because they\u2019re not there all the time. But that\u2019s how they get hit.\u201d<\/p>\n

The koala she spotted on Whites Hill Reserve was monitored by volunteers from Koala Rescue Brisbane South to ensure it wasn\u2019t hit, and that it climbed into higher branches. But concerns remain for the wildlife that lives nearby, and Sharyn is urging motorists to please slow down.<\/p>\n

\"Left:<\/p>\n

Signs line the streets of Brisbane, reminding motorists that the city’s koalas are being killed at an astounding rate. Source: Supplied<\/p>\n

Love Australia’s weird and wonderful environment? \ud83d\udc0a\ud83e\udd98\ud83d\ude33 Get our new newsletter<\/a> showcasing the week\u2019s best stories.<\/p>\n

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