Wee Joey

This morning I fed a wee joey! She's the cutest little thing, and I'm sorry I don't have a picture of her to include here. She gets fed some formula each morning if she comes down for it (if she stays up in the tree they don't give her the formula, in which case she just eats leaves that day). I was cleaning out her enclosure with another volunteer, and as soon as she saw us she climbed down the tree, anxious for the formula. Some of the koalas really love the stuff; even if they don't strictly need the extra nutrients in the formula, they can have it if they like it. So down she climbed, and she kept leaning towards each of us, stretching out a wee arm (with big claws) towards us and nearly falling off her perch in the process. This little girl was hungry! Luckily the other (more experienced) volunteer let me feed her, and it was just thrilling. She was so eager for it, she kept trying to reach out and pull my hand to her more quickly! We use a wee syringe to feed the koalas, releasing the formula quite slowly to prevent it from going down the wrong way (feeding them too fast can cause the formula to get into the lungs, which can wind up killing the koala). I was following the procedure, but she was very impatient. She didn't get me with her claws but did manage to hook them into the small cloth I was holding to wipe any formula off her chin after she was done eating. She wasn't too keen on me wiping her face after she ate, but it had to be done!

I love these koalas. I so wish they didn't need to be in a hospital, but as long as they're there, I'm so happy to be helping them. Our time here means so much to me.