An extra special Mother’s Day for Koala Cassidy!
One of the first Elanora Koala’s to take part in Currumbin Wildlife Hospital and Queensland University of Technology’s (QUT) Koala chlamydia vaccine program, has given birth to her second joey.
Cassidy is currently receiving her biannual check-up at Currumbin Wildlife Hospital.
Her joey, which is around 6 months old, is still inside her pouch.
Cassidy is the first Koala in the program, which has been underway for 2 years, to give birth to a second joey.
“This is a very exciting milestone for the program, and just in time for Mother’s Day, we couldn’t be happier for Cassidy. There’s still a long way to go to save local Koalas, but the early success is very promising.” Currumbin Wildlife Hospital Senior Vet Michael Pyne
The program has now welcomed 25 joeys, and also recently its first ‘grand joey’.
Koala ‘Yadda Yadda’, had a joey called ‘Yadda’, who has now had her own joey called ‘Ya’.
The program aims to establish the level of vaccination required within an infected Koala population to reduce the overall incidence of chlamydia and improve the associated fertility so that the population stabilises or increases.
Over 60% of Koalas are admitted to Currumbin Wildlife Hospital due to the effects of chlamydia and of the remaining 40% of admissions, a significant number of Koalas are showing signs of the disease. Clinical chlamydia is one of the leading contributors to the species’ dramatic population decline.
More than 250 wild local Koalas have now been vaccinated. This includes all Koalas treated and released through Currumbin Wildlife Hospital, as well as those in the Elanora population.
The cost to treat one Koala suffering from clinical chlamydia is $7,000, due to the long term rehabilitation and medical treatment required.
Please support Currumbin Wildlife Hospital by donating today so we can provide our Koalas with the very best care.
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