Territorial Pissing

On the way back from Mount Gambier yesterday, we saw this dopey little bugger sitting right in the middle of the road.

 

 

 

 

I had to pull over, get out and move him. It’s a busy truck route between Portland and the Mount, & I couldn’t just leave him there.

 

 

I tried quite a few times to move him off the road- but this wilful little turd wasn't moving for anyone! 

 

 

 

 

So after a few attempts to shepherd him toward the safety of the nature strip, I made an executive decision to forcibly evict him before any heavy traffic came to clean us both up!!

 

 

 

 

So I picked him up, and carried him off the road.
 

 

 

It’s no good dumping a Koala on the side of the road; you have to take them near a tree, a reasonable distance from the road.
 

 

  

 

Hopefully, they will also be sufficiently aggravated so they aren’t tempted to return to the blacktop.

 

 

 

And aggravated he was...the grumpy bugger gave me a love bite.
 

 

 

YEOWWWW!!!!
 

 

 

 

 I set him down pretty sharpish, and watched him head for safety.

 

 

Koala rescuer?

Maybe- maybe not. It occurs to me…

This little fellow might have had enough. He may have wanted to commit suicide.

How would I know for sure? Why can’t animals get tired of living too?

I might have buggered his plans. He looked like he had a pretty good idea what he was doing.

No wonder he was cross.

What makes me think I know better than the koala?

It was actually a selfish act on my part; regardless of what he wanted…I didn’t want to leave him there to be hit by a truck.

Plus it was a great photo op, as you can see.

Maybe I deserved to be bit, the price of my pictures.

Penance for thinking I know better than the koala.

In my defence; Koala’s do tend to get a little groggy, hopped up on gum leaves.

They can also be very territorial, and this one was certainly arrogant. He wasn’t moving for anyone.

My way- the highway.

Maybe he really had no idea what might be about to happen.

PLUS…I use this stretch of road quite a bit. If I saw his carcass on the road (& no truck would have stopped for him- suicide for the driver) I would have felt bad.

& I am getting tired of taking koalas who have been hit to the vet.

We do what we do, for better or worse.

I guess as long as we think about what we do when it comes to nature. 

It's a balancing act. 

But I admit, I’m glad I stopped.

If I hadn’t…

I don’t think I would have been able to sleep.