Koala joey gets healing hug from mum after traumatic car accident

A touching reunion of a koala mother and her joey at an animal hospital has captured the hearts of a local community after the pair were separated by a traumatic car accident.

Last Tuesday an alert motorist in the NSW town of Port Macquarie spotted the car in front hitting the marsupials*.

The mother koala was reportedly thrown several metres in the air by the impact, with the joey falling from her pouch onto the road.

As the second driver stopped to help the young koala, the terrified mother ran for the bush.

The good Samaritan* motorist rang the local Koala Hospital* in Port Macquarie, which sent out a team to help.

Even though the team was able to capture the mother and take both koalas back to the hospital, it was a highly uncertain situation.

Koala Conservation Australia communications manager Shelley Wood said at first the mother “wouldn’t take the joey back – most likely due to shock and distress”.

“So, this (uncertainty) made the reunion even more special the next morning,” she said.

A video of the joey, who has been named Myka, being carefully unwrapped by a hospital worker on Wednesday and gently given back to the mother, was posted to the hospital’s social media accounts on Wednesday.

The touching video of the mum, now called Jody, watching as Myka quickly cuddles up to her, has already attracted over 52,000 likes on Facebook.

“Jody and Myka certainly have captured many hearts,” Ms Wood said.

Although the pair appeared to have escaped serious injury, they will be kept under observation.

“Jody and Myka will be monitored at our hospital for the coming days, usually the first 72 hours are the most critical and internal injuries* can take a little longer to present,” Ms Wood said. “No broken bones though, which is a bonus.”

Ms Wood said that unfortunately mothers and joeys can often be separated by car accidents.

“Car strikes such as this happen all too often, and mum may not survive,” she said.

“Sometimes the mum will throw the joey if she is in danger, in order to protect the joey. And it’s not unusual for them to not be reunited … making this a really awesome outcome.

“We have many orphaned joeys that end up with us for various reasons.”

The driver who hit Jody and Myka may have not noticed what happened and Ms Wood warned motorists in the area to take extra care and look out for koalas on the roads after two more strikes happened in the same area over a couple of days.

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GLOSSARY

• marsupials: mammals whose young are carried and suckled in a pouch. This includes koalas, wallabies and kangaroos
• Koala Hospital: the first hospital in Australia set up to rescue, rehabilitate and release wild koalas
• Samaritan: someone who gives their help to those who need it
• internal injuries: injuries to organs and tissues

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QUICK QUIZ
1. Why did the mother koala not take the joey back at first?
2. Why are the pair being kept at the koala hospital under observation?
3. How many likes has the video of their reunion received on Facebook?
4. Why does the mother koala sometimes throw her joey if she is in danger?
5. What can drivers do to help protect koalas?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Feelings reflection
After reading the Kids News article on this lovely Koala story, watch and re-watch the video of the Mum being reunited with her Joey. Complete the following proforma on what feelings you felt.

1. What did you see/experience?
Briefly describe what you saw or experienced:

2. What feelings did this invoke in you?
(You can write down more than one)

• Happy
• Sad
• Angry
• Excited
• Confused
• Surprised
• Worried
• Scared
• Calm
• Inspired
• Frustrated
• Proud
• Other: ________________________

3. Where did you feel it?

• In my mind (thinking)
• In my body (eg. heart racing, butterflies, calm)
• Both

4. Why do you think you felt that way?

5. Thinking about others
How might other people feel about this? (Could be characters, people in real life, or classmates)

6. How did you respond or want to respond?

• I wanted to ask a question
• I wanted to talk about it
• I wanted to do something to help or change it
• I wanted to learn more
• I felt like doing nothing
• Other: ________________________

7. What could you do next?

Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension
Design a poster to put around your local area about driving slowly and watching out for koalas when driving on the road. What should drivers do if they hit one or see an injured koala? Put that information on the poster too.

Time: allow 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

VCOP ACTIVITY
Read this!
A headline on an article – or a title on your text – should capture the attention of the audience, telling them to read this now. So choosing the perfect words for a headline or title is very important.

Create three new headlines for the events that took place in this article. Remember, what you write and how you write it will set the pace for the whole text, so make sure it matches.

Read out your headlines to a partner and discuss what the article will be about based on the headline you created. Discuss the tone and mood you set in just your few, short words. Does it do the article justice? Will it capture the audience’s attention the way you hoped? Would you want to read more?

Consider how a headline or title is similar to using short, sharp sentences throughout your text. They can be just as important as complex ones. Go through the last text you wrote and highlight any short, sharp sentences that capture the audience.