This past Sunday morning, a resident of Coorparoo, Australia, was feeding her dog when she noticed something strange in her pool. On top of her pool’s cover, there was a mama koala and her joey — in imminent danger of drowning.
Sections of the pool cover
were moved around and folded over, which showed the koala had been trying and failing to escape. Luckily, the family happens to live two houses away from a volunteer at Koala Rescue Brisbane South (KRBS) named Richard. As soon as they called him, he rushed over to help.
“Mom and joey were sitting on the pool cover not moving much but soaked through … my neighbors could not work out how long they had been there,” Richard told The Dodo.
The mama and her baby were in the shallow end of the pool, so Richard was able to wade in and gently scoop them up with a net. Despite the scary situation, the pair was surprisingly calm.
“They were both very well-behaved and likely just happy to be out of there,” Richard said.
Richard toweled the koala and her joey off and placed them in the sun to warm up. While they were drying off, Richard got in contact with the KRBS operator, who arranged for them to be transported to the RSPCA, which would handle their vetting process.
The vets at the RSPCA thoroughly examined the koala and her joey. Thanks to Richard and the quick thinking of the homeowners, the marsupials were doing well.
“The outcome in this case could have been tragic,” KRBS wrote on Facebook.
If you own a pool, there are a few simple steps you can take to prevent animals from falling into it. While a pool cover is a good start, it’s better to get one that’s specifically designed to help animals climb out.
“[H]ave a cover fitted, and preferably one that is firmly attached to the sides that will allow an animal to climb off the cover, and if not a cover, have a rope, towel or ramp in the pool so animals … can hopefully swim to it and haul themselves out,” Richard said.
Just two days later, the RSPCA determined that the mom and joey were fit to be released outside. The koala caretakers placed them at the bottom of a tree in a nature reserve, and the mama wasted no time scurrying up it with her joey on her back.
Everyone involved in the rescue and release of these koalas was relieved that they were safe, happy and together after everything they’d been through.
