Baldwin is another recent victim of a car accident. He comes from an area in Lismore, NSW that is a well-known ‘black spot' for koala injuries and deaths due to road accidents.
The driver who accidentally ran over Baldwin did the right thing and called the koala rescuers from ‘Friends of the Koala', which is a local Lismore koala rehabilitation group that dedicate their time to the rescue and rehabilitation of the koalas in Lismore and the surrounding areas. Friends of the Koala were able to send a rescue team out straight away to attend to Baldwin .
The next day after being treated by a local vet, Baldwin was brought to us here at the Australian Wildlife Hospital (a good three-hour drive for his carers!) for examination and evaluation from our specialist wildlife veterinarians.
Apart from the obvious grazes on his beautiful nose, he also had a fractured scapula (shoulder), torn ligaments and damage also to the rotator cuff in his shoulder. This was potentially bad news for a koala; as you know, they need their arms and upper body strength to climb up in the trees. Because of the nature of this injury, the full extent of his ability to recover is unknown at the present time; if he was human it would take months or even years to recover from this type of damage. Baldwin needs strict rest and hopefully in the future he will fully recover and head back to the wild.
Baldwin the Koala
Driving three hours to the hospital, that's very caring. I hope the local council or someone can do something about this black spot. I have seen tunnels built under the roads to help the wildlife cross roads but it might not feasible in this case it's hard to know.
Get well soon little Baldwin. lol What a cute name for a Koala. :)
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