A young koala’s brush with death in a canine encounter at Mount Macedon has wildlife carers urging responsible dog ownership.
The koala, Amigo, suffered deep puncture wounds and severe bruising after he was attacked on Tucketts Road on Easter Saturday.
Fast on the scene, Macedon Ranges Wildlife Rescue’s Sue Anderson and Mel Fraser made efforts to recover Amigo but when he made for the treetops they called on Tree Amigos for a special rescue.
When safe in the hands of rescuers Amigo was assessed for injuries and brought into care.
“Amigo has a deep puncture and there were massive concerns it penetrated through to vital organs, thankfully, however, it hadn’t. He is very sore and severely bruised. He still is not out of the woods,” Ms Fraser said.
“Sadly dog attacks are still one of the main reasons why we get called out to this species.”
Ms Fraser rescues about six koalas a year that are a direct result of preventable dog attacks in the Macedon Ranges.
“These are only the ones that are reported, sadly the number of koalas attacked by dogs will be higher,” she said.
“We’re asking people to please walk dogs on leads – we cannot lose any more of these creatures!”
Amigo remains in care and carers are hopeful he will pull through.
