Koala Research

Meet ... Nina You Yangs

UPDATE - 1 JANUARY 2007: Mum and Baby reunited!
The 2007 year started very well with Nina being released back to where she was rescued from - and into the same tree as her baby.

During Nina's absence, her baby had remained in the area probably waiting for Mum to return. She spent some of the time with an 'Auntie' - another female! On New Year's Day she was seen alone so a call to Marilyn was made and decided that this was an excellent opportunity to release her now-healthy Mum.

During her care Nina had made good friends with Mumma K and they often cuddled up together. Although Koalas are solitary animals they do appear to benefit from being close to their own kind when in care or when times are tough or different.

Nina was keen to be back in the bush and rushed up the tree. She recognised her baby and reached out for her but baby was reluctant at first. (Her Mum would have smelt different following her time with humans).

They had both moved on together by the next day which was no surprise as they were probably on the move through the area at the time of Nina's rescue. We hope they will be back to visit soon.

4 December 2006
This lovely young lady was discovered in the You Yangs on 3rd December 2006 by Aris, one of our guests from the Netherlands. When found she had a baby on her back, and we were enchanted! We watched them both for some time. However, we noticed that Nina, the mother, was holding her left leg strangely and when she moved she was not putting any weight on it. We continued to watch until Janine became convinced that her leg was injured and she needed help. She called Marilyn Blankley of Beremboke Wildlife Shelter to arrange for her rescue. The rescue attempts that night were unsuccessful, as she was very high up in her tree.

Very early the next morning Nina You Yangs was rescued from her tree by wildlife carers and the park rangers. She went straight to wildlife vet Dr Anne Fowler for X-rays and assessment. Strangely, her leg was not broken as everyone believed, but very badly bruised and swollen. Her overall health was pronounced to be good, though she is a little underweight - she is probably about 4 to 5 years old.

She is now in Marilyn's care and doing well - eating voraciously. With her damaged leg, it is likely that she has had trouble moving around and so has not been eating normally - hence her low weight. Marilyn says she's a very calm and self-possessed young lady. She is having a little physiotherapy on her leg, which she accepts with good grace, and lots of rest.

Interestingly, when she was rescued her baby was nowhere to be found. During the night when they were alone, baby has left her mother. Koala mothers are very protective of their babies, and we wonder if Nina felt threatened by the rescue attempts - and unable to escape herself due to her limited mobility - has sent her baby away to protect her.

The baby, who we've called "Aris", was almost big enough to be alone so we are confident she will be okay. She probably has some "aunties" - related female koalas near by - who can keep an eye on her. We hope to return her mother to her as soon as possible.

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